Yipe that's basically the squad. Unless Poppa releases Rojas.
Will also be interesting to see if Mikey Boxall plays for Minnesota today. His omission 'injured' smells a a bit fishy, given how Minny's coach Heath - basically pulled him out of the Olympics last year.
Starting 11, I'd guess of -
Sail, Kirwan, Reid, Smith, De Vries, Lewis, Garbett, Howieson, Champness, de Jong & Barba.
Ingham may start ahead of Kirwan, as I imagine Kirwan won't get to Qatar until tomorrow, having played for his club today. And if Champness plays for
Giresunspor tomorrow, he'll also get to Qatar late.
Plus Nikko Boxall may come in for either Smith or Reid, as that's 2 pretty slowish aging CBs. Be nice if Sligo released Pijnaker a few days early. They play again tomorrow, and then also on Saturday, same day as this AWs v PNG game.
3 (Sail, Howieson & Barba) of the above 11 (4 if Ingham starts) haven't been involved with the AWs for awhile. So next few days training sessions will be important. Though Howieson & Barba both have a tonne of international experience. Even Sail is a pretty experienced keeper now.
Looks like PNG has left for Qatar straight from home. No mention of any warmup games or anything. So if AWs play with speed & fluidity first 10-20 mins, it could be quite a shock to the Kapuls, and chance to go a few goals up early before they settle?? Think their national league has been Covid suspended, so they could be seriously underdone.
https://www.pngfootball.com.pg/mrdc-supports-kapuls-with-k100000/
Tommy Semmy seems their best player on paper. But Reid/Smith/Boxall jnr you'd trust to do the job. And yes if David Browne suddenly sorts out his visa issues, that would be a boost to PNG. But AWs should, (should) still win comfortably.
https://www.pngfootball.com.pg/pngfa-announces-squad-for-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-ofc-qualifier/
Looks like weather will be about low 20s, so pretty mild. Don't think they are using 2022 WC venues, so no aircon to help cool things in need. Open air stadium in this shot. https://twitter.com/nz_football
Will also be interesting to see if Mikey Boxall plays for Minnesota today. His omission 'injured' smells a a bit fishy, given how Minny's coach Heath - basically pulled him out of the Olympics last year.
Starting 11, I'd guess of -
Sail, Kirwan, Reid, Smith, De Vries, Lewis, Garbett, Howieson, Champness, de Jong & Barba.
Ingham may start ahead of Kirwan, as I imagine Kirwan won't get to Qatar until tomorrow, having played for his club today. And if Champness plays for
Giresunspor tomorrow, he'll also get to Qatar late.
Plus Nikko Boxall may come in for either Smith or Reid, as that's 2 pretty slowish aging CBs. Be nice if Sligo released Pijnaker a few days early. They play again tomorrow, and then also on Saturday, same day as this AWs v PNG game.
3 (Sail, Howieson & Barba) of the above 11 (4 if Ingham starts) haven't been involved with the AWs for awhile. So next few days training sessions will be important. Though Howieson & Barba both have a tonne of international experience. Even Sail is a pretty experienced keeper now.
Looks like PNG has left for Qatar straight from home. No mention of any warmup games or anything. So if AWs play with speed & fluidity first 10-20 mins, it could be quite a shock to the Kapuls, and chance to go a few goals up early before they settle?? Think their national league has been Covid suspended, so they could be seriously underdone.
https://www.pngfootball.com.pg/mrdc-supports-kapuls-with-k100000/
Tommy Semmy seems their best player on paper. But Reid/Smith/Boxall jnr you'd trust to do the job. And yes if David Browne suddenly sorts out his visa issues, that would be a boost to PNG. But AWs should, (should) still win comfortably.
https://www.pngfootball.com.pg/pngfa-announces-squad-for-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-ofc-qualifier/
Looks like weather will be about low 20s, so pretty mild. Don't think they are using 2022 WC venues, so no aircon to help cool things in need. Open air stadium in this shot. https://twitter.com/nz_football