All Whites midfield will be very under done- Garbett, Stamenic not playing. Rufer ill, Bell playing friendlies. Singh not in recent squad for some reason.
Not a massive concern now but the guys need minutes leading into 2026.
Not a massive concern now but the guys need minutes leading into 2026.
So if 2 or 3 of those lads not available where do we go next? Howieson and Roa conchie seem obvious, both local and getting game time though howieson not regular starts. 12 to 18 months ago youd have said Dibley Dias but he has faded. Ryan Thomas not a realistic option either
Mid is definitely a worry with so many injury prone or not playing, I wouldn’t write Thomas off he’s fit enough to make there bench and is getting some minutes if not as often as we would like. For this window if we need extras you hit it right with either Conchie or howison but if we qualify there may be a few unknowns to us that nzf is in contact with that declare for us, CB jack Irdale is an example of someone eligible for nz who just hasn’t declared. And playing in a World Cup is a huge draw card