St Mirren’s Alex Greive has been called up to the men’s national team squad to replace Andre de Jong after the AmaZulu FC forward was unable to fly from South Africa due to Covid-19 travel restrictions in the UAE. 

Getting called up to the All Whites tops off a great January for the 22-year-old former Birkenhead United attacker. After a stellar season in the Northern League, which saw him finish as the golden boot winner on 19 goals, Greive earned a move to Scottish Premiership side St Mirren which was confirmed earlier this month. He made his debut off the bench for The Buddies in a 2-1 over Dundee United on 19 January. 

“Alex is someone we have monitoring for a long time and is a real talent” says Head Coach Danny Hay. 

“He was arguably the best player in the Northern League last year, earned his chance to go to Europe and impressed enough there to secure a big move. 

“While it is disappointing that Andre can’t join us, Alex now has a chance show what he can do at this level.”

The All Whites face Jordan on Friday 28 January 2022 (Saturday 29 January NZ) at New York University Stadium, Abu Dhabi (kick-off 7pm / 4am NZ) and Uzbekistan on Tuesday 1 February 2022 (Wednesday 2 February NZ) at The Sevens Stadium, Dubai (kick-off 7pm / 4am NZ).


Article added: Wednesday 26 January 2022