Head Coach Marvin Eakins has named his 14-man squad to take on Oceania’s best at the OFC Futsal Nations Cup, with qualification to the FIFA Futsal World Cup on the line to the winner of the competition.

The squad is unchanged from the team that went to China earlier in September, that team putting on an impressive show against the 86th world-ranked Chinese Men’s National Futsal team, winning 5-0 and 6-2 across the two games in Beijing.

Marvin Eakins is looking forward to regrouping with the squad after their impressive start to the campaign in China. “The games in China were a great opportunity for us to get back together and refine some of the things we’ve been working on for the past few years. I was pleased with the performances and also saw a few things we could work on and improve ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers in October.”

“Those that have followed the Futsal Whites for some time will know how much winning this competition means, not only to myself but to the whole NZ futsal community. This group will leave everything on the court in October and we are determined to win the competition and secure qualification to the World Cup by the end.”

New Zealand Futsal Whites squad for the OFC Futsal Nations Cup 2023

Rahan Ali | 7 Caps / 10 Goals | Moreland Futsal

Mike Antamanov | 7 Caps / 0 Goals | Auckland City FC

Stephen Ashby-Peckham | 36 Caps / 12 Goals | Auckland City FC

Jordan Ditfort | 18 Caps / 9 Goals | Bloomsbury Futsal

Hamish Grey | 7 Caps / 5 Goals | Unattached

Oban Hawkins | 15 Caps / 5 Goals | Southern United

Dylan Manickum | 58 Caps / 34 Goals | Auckland City FC

Ethan Martin | 7 Caps / 6 Goals | Waikato Rapids

Adam Paulsen | 7 Caps / 3 Goals | Auckland City FC

Thomas Picken | 2 Caps / 0 Goals | Auckland City FC

Casey Sharplin | 7 Caps / 1 Goal | Waikato Rapids

Patrick Steele | 7 Caps / 0 Goals | Waikato Rapids

Art Twigg | 2 Caps / 2 Goals | Auckland City FC

Logan Wisnewski | 15 Caps / 3 Goals | Bloomsbury Futsal

Eakins’ has named Dylan Manickum (58 caps / 34 goals) Captain of the squad for the competition. Manickum, a mainstay of the Futsal Whites since his debut in 2010, is 1 cap away from equaling Eakins’ own record of the highest-capped Futsal Whites player of all time with 59 caps and is likely to become their most-capped player in history during this tournament. 

The Futsal Whites are in Group A, alongside Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga. See below all timings for their group stage games, as well as details for the semi-finals and finals.

New Zealand OFC Futsal Nations Cup Fixtures

New Zealand vs Vanuatu | 4:00pm NZT | October 1st

New Zealand vs Fiji | 7:00pm NZT | October 2nd

New Zealand vs Tonga | 4:00pm NZT | October 4th

Semi-final playoff (TBC) | October 5th

Final playoff (TBC) | October 7th

The OFC Futsal Nations Cup takes place between October 1 - 7 at Bruce Pulman Arena in Takanini, Auckland. Entry to the games from October 1-6 is free, and October 7’s finals are a ticketed event. See below for ticketing details (Children under fourteen get in for free)

https://premier.ticketek.co.nz/shows/show.aspx?sh=NZFFUTSA23 

For more information on the tournament, head to oceaniafootball.com.

Make sure you follow NZF Futsal on social media for real-time coverage of the Futsal Whites World Cup qualifying campaign.

Article added: Sunday 24 September 2023