https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/nz-teams/127547943/all-whites-coach-danny-hay-pleasantly-surprised-to-have-chris-wood-fully-available
“We take every single player's position in their club into account and there will be times when there's gotta be a little bit of payback, so I'm expecting come March, I can make a phone call with one or two coaches and say, can you remember when we didn't call them up in January to help you out? Now it's time for a little bit of payback.”
“We take every single player's position in their club into account and there will be times when there's gotta be a little bit of payback, so I'm expecting come March, I can make a phone call with one or two coaches and say, can you remember when we didn't call them up in January to help you out? Now it's time for a little bit of payback.”
Andre de Jong was somewhat of a surprise inclusion, as he is based in South Africa, and most travel from that country to the UAE is prohibited at present.
Hay said the forward’s involvement was still up in the air and the staff were “holding their breath” as they waited to see whether they could get him in.
Ryan Thomas remains a long-term absentee. The midfielder made himself unavailable for selection last year while focusing on his club career at PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, which suffered another injury setback prior to Christmas.
https://www.nzfootball.co.nz/newsarticle/111292?newsfeedId=1223399
Head Coach Danny Hay is looking forward to getting the side back together as they build towards the OFC FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying tournament in March:
“It was important to play games in this window so we can build on what we did at the end of last year and continue to develop as a team.
“Knowing some of the difficulties the OFC FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament presents it was important for us to bring in some new faces. It’s great that we can now select from the A-League Men, as well as give opportunities to players in Europe who have had good seasons and just missed out in the spring.
“Both Jordan and Uzbekistan are going to be challenging but this is what we need to develop, especially when you consider the number of young players we have in the squad. We need to continue to test ourselves in games like this on a regular basis as we start what could be a big year for the team.”
https://www.nzfootball.co.nz/newsarticle/111292?newsfeedId=1223399
Head Coach Danny Hay is looking forward to getting the side back together as they build towards the OFC FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying tournament in March:
“It was important to play games in this window so we can build on what we did at the end of last year and continue to develop as a team.
“Knowing some of the difficulties the OFC FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament presents it was important for us to bring in some new faces. It’s great that we can now select from the A-League Men, as well as give opportunities to players in Europe who have had good seasons and just missed out in the spring.
“Both Jordan and Uzbekistan are going to be challenging but this is what we need to develop, especially when you consider the number of young players we have in the squad. We need to continue to test ourselves in games like this on a regular basis as we start what could be a big year for the team.”