New Zealand Football are pleased to announce the final squad who will represent Aotearoa at the OFC U-19 Championship this September (8th – 25th NZT) in Tahiti. 

Head coach Darren Bazeley has named 23 players as he looks to repeat the team’s success in winning the 2016 and 2018 competitions. The tournament is the first in four years after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to Covid-19 and represents the qualifying pathway to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Indonesia 2023 for the top two sides.

The team will be captained by Finn Surman, one of eleven Wellington Phoenix players in the squad. The side also features players from National League clubs: Auckland United, Birkenhead United, Cashmere Technical, Eastern Suburbs, Melville United, Miramar Rangers, Napier City Rovers, Waterside Karori and Wellington Olympic. 

The only player named in the squad not currently based in New Zealand is midfielder Jay Herdman, son of Canada men’s head coach John Herdman, who plays for Vancouver Whitecaps. 

The full 23-person squad is:

Sebastian Barton-Ginger, Wellington Phoenix
Charlie Beale, Wellington Phoenix
Oliver Colloty, Melville United
Fin Conchie, Wellington Phoenix
Kian Donkers, Cashmere Technical
Theo Ettema, Wellington Olympic
Oliver Fay, Auckland United
Henry Gray, Waterside Karori
Jay Herdman, Vancouver Whitecaps
Isaac Hughes, Wellington Phoenix
Jackson Jarvie, Eastern Suburbs
Noah Karunaratne, Wellington Phoenix
Lukas Kelly-Heald, Wellington Phoenix
Joseph Knowles, Eastern Suburbs
Marco Lorenz, Wellington Phoenix
Oscar Mason, Napier City Rovers
Jackson Manuel, Wellington Phoenix
Dan McKay, Wellington Phoenix
Everton O'Leary, Birkenhead United
Aaryan Raj, Eastern Suburbs
Adam Supyk, Wellington Phoenix
Wilson Souphanthavong, Miramar Rangers
Finn Surman, Wellington Phoenix

“After 2020 had to be cancelled due to Covid-19, I’m really pleased to finally be able to name the squad for this tournament and get our age group activity back underway” says head coach Darren Bazeley. 

“This is a strong group with a lot of potential, many of which have been playing a good number of minutes in the National League. It is now up to them to prove it on the international stage.”

The team will depart for Tahiti on Monday 5 September apart from Eastern Suburbs players Jackson Jarvie, Joseph Knowles and Aaryan Raj who will be taking part in the Chatham Cup final on 11 September against Auckland City before joining up with the squad. 

In addition to the 23 players named, Regan Diver (Northern Rovers), Josh Rudland (Wellington Phoenix) and Chase Taylor (Birkenhead United) will be non-travelling reserves. 

All matches will be streamed live by OFC.  

Article added: Thursday 01 September 2022