The Olympic warm up against fellow London 2012 finalists comes one year and 12 days since Payne and his teammates were eliminated from the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico, at the hands of Japan in a one-sided Round of 16 match.
Payne was one of the star turns of a campaign that saw the Young All Whites beat Uzbekistan, draw with USA and run the Czech Republic close in a narrow defeat, helping him earn a successful trial at Blackburn Rovers and also win a place in the Junior All Whites FIFA U-20 World Cup campaign in Colombia.
For a teenager who says his aim after Mexico was to finish off his final year at Auckland’s Sacred Heart College and then look overseas, two age-group World Cups would have been enough to digest but there has been a steady supply of highlights since.
The now England-based attacking midfielder reached the FA Youth Cup final with Blackburn’s academy, made his All Whites debut in the recent win over Honduras and followed that up with three more caps for the national team at the OFC Nations Cup before being named in the Olympic squad for London.
“The past year has gone by so quickly,” Payne says.
“When I think back to the start of the U-17s to where I am right now and everything that’s happened, it’s a dream come true. Playing for the All Whites is every young Kiwi footballer’s dream so it’s been a big year for me.
“Any chance to represent New Zealand is a proud moment and going to age group World Cups is a pretty cool experience. Playing for the different teams in just over a year is something I’ll look back on and think how lucky I was at some stages and how cool it’s been.”
Long-term, Payne says being part of an All Whites team that qualifies for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is high on his list of targets but, more immediately, he and his Oly Whites teammates are aiming to get out of an Olympic group featuring Belarus, Egypt and Brazil. Preparations for that mission enter a new phase for Neil Emblen’s charges against Japan, with the initial focus on gelling together a squad of which only half have been involved in the campaign so far.
Like Payne, All Whites Cameron Howieson and Michael McGlinchey will make their Olympic team debuts against Japan and while the likes of Shane Smeltz, Ryan Nelsen and Kosta Barbarouses will be used to hitting the ground running on international duty, some new combinations will need to be forged with younger New Zealand-based players.
Emblen will be without the services of West Bromwich Albion striker Chris Wood and Ipswich Town defender Tommy Smith, who will both join the team in Korea for their next warm-up match, while Marco Rojas arrived in Tokyo this morning. Tim Myers is suffering from a virus while Dakota Lucas is carrying a knock on his ankle.
“We’re juggling things at the moment,” Emblen says.
“We haven’t got the full quota of players available yet and the focus is giving everyone enough time to make sure we’re ready to go against Belarus on July 26.
“Japan is a very important game for us. It’s important to start the programme well but it’s not the be all and end all given what lies ahead.”
The match kicks off at 10.55pm tonight (NZT) with coverage on Sky Sport 3 from 10.30pm.
International Olympic friendly
New Zealand v Japan
National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
Wednesday 11 July, 7.55pm (10.55pm NZT)
Live on Sky Sport 3 from 10.30pm
New Zealand: (from) 1-Jake GLEESON (GK), 2-Tim PAYNE, 3-Ian HOGG, 4-Tim MYERS, 5-Tommy SMITH, 6-Ryan NELSEN (Captain), 7-Kosta BARBAROUSES, 8-Michael McGLINCHEY, 9-Shane SMELTZ, 10-Chris WOOD, 11-Marco ROJAS, 12-Adam THOMAS, 13-Alex FENERIDIS, 14-James MUSA, 15-Cameron HOWIESON, 16-Dakota LUCAS, 17-Adam McGEORGE, 18-Michael O’KEEFFE (GK)
Coach: Neil EMBLEN
Japan: (from) 1-Shuichi GONDA (GK), 2-Yuhei TOKUNAGA, 3-Takahiro OGIHARA, 4-Hiroki SAKAI, 5-Maya YOSHIDA, 6-Taisuke MURAMATSU, 7-Yuki OTSU, 8-Kazuya YAMAMURA, 9-Kenyu SUGIMOTO, 10-Keigo HIGASHI, 11-Kensuke NAGAI, 12-Gotoku SAKAI, 13-Daisuke SUZUKI, 14-Takashi USAMI, 15-Manabu SAITO, 16-Hotaru YAMAGUCHI, 17-Hiroshi KIYOTAKE, 18-Shunsuke ANDO (GK)
Coach: Takashi SEKIZUKA
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand Football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz

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