Captained by Olympique Marseille and All Whites midfielder Bill Tuiloma, the squad includes 10 players who have been part of the senior New Zealand set up in recent months, including six players who have turned out for their country at the highest level.
Six of the 21 are based overseas with Tuiloma joined off shore by Jesse Edge with Italian club Vicenza Calcio, forward Monty Patterson (Ipswich Town FC) goalkeeper Nik Tsanev (Brentford FC) and United States-based Cory Brown (Xavier University) and Stuart Holthusen (Akron University),
The squad now confirmed, New Zealand Football CEO Andy Martin said the excitement around the tournament has been building steadily in recent weeks as football prepares to take centre stage in New Zealand and around the globe.
“The centre of the football world on 30 May will be at North Harbour Stadium and with three quarters of the tickets sold for that game against Ukraine, football fans need to be quick to grab their seat,” Martin said.
“That first match, our team’s other Group A games in Auckland and Wellington and the other matches up and down the country give us a unique opportunity to show the world what football means to the people of New Zealand.
“Our long term plan is to elevate the game in this country and this tournament provides the perfect platform for us bring that vision to life over the next month. I’m looking forward to seeing how our game will bring the nation on wonderful ride.”
Bazeley says his final squad has been chosen from a net cast wide over an intense two-year period which merged a strong domestic base with international matches offshore and at home.
“We’ve been looking at this squad for the last two years and we’ve had contact with over 100 players over the course of the two years,” Bazeley said.
“Some weren’t with us for very long when we made decisions and some unfortunately have been with us until yesterday when we named the final squad.”
“We’ve worked with and trained a lot of players locally here and monitored players offshore and around New Zealand. We’ve had a lot of camps, two seasons with the Wanderers in the ASB Premiership to trial and assess players along with a few international tours as well.
“We’re happy with where we’ve got to and we think we’ve got the right balance and selection of players to do well at the World Cup.”
The final squad includes the likes of Tuiloma, midfielders Matt Ridenton and Clayton Lewis and fullback Deklan Wynne, all of whom have seen playing time at senior level – something Bazeley says is a core component of the team’s approach.
“Part of our objective is to create players capable of stepping into the All Whites team and the Olympic squads. Over the course of the two years we’ve done a good job getting some players ready and they’ve been pushed forward into the higher group.
“To have so many players that have experienced being with Anthony and the All Whites and playing senior international football is great for us and I’m sure those players can help take that experience and help the rest of our players as well.”
Bazeley says the remaining 15 days before the tournament will see the group continue to fine-tune their playing system as they build towards the kickoff on 30 May.
“Now’s the time we’ve got our whole squad together we can just do the final tweaks and polish up our style play. We’ve got players who know the system and understand it so we’ve just got to get our combinations right. Being together from now until the start of the World Cup is key so we are ready to go when we hit that first game.”
Bazeley says his side are well aware of the quality of opposition heading to these shores but that doesn’t alter the team’s objective: to do what no New Zealand men’s U-20 team has done before.
“It’s a massive challenge for us at this level. We’re going to come up against some of the best players in the world. Almost every player coming from around the world will be professional footballers playing in top leagues.
“But our goal is to make history. No U-20 men’s team has ever won a game at a World Cup so our aim is to be the first team to do that; to win games and qualify out of our group and to play in a way that makes the country proud to watch us.”
New Zealand U-20s – FIFA U-20 World Cup 2015
Goalkeepers
Damian Hirst – Wanderers SC, NZL
Oliver Sail – Wellington Phoenix, NZL
Nik Tzanev – Brentford FC, ENG
Defenders
Sam Brotherton – Wanderers SC, NZL
Cory Brown – Xavier University USA
Jesse Edge – Vicenza Calcio, ITA
Brock Messenger – Wanderers SC, NZL
Adam Mitchell – Wanderers SC, NZL
Deklan Wynne – Wanderers SC, NZL
Midfielders
Andre de Jong – Wanderers SC, NZL
Moses Dyer – Wanderers SC, NZL
Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi – Wanderers SC, NZL
Clayton Lewis – Wanderers SC, NZL
Matthew Ridenton – Wellington Phoenix, NZL
Bill Tuiloma (capt) – Olympique Marseille, FRA
Forwards
Noah Billingsley – Wanderers SC, NZL
Andrew Blake – Wellington Phoenix, NZL
Stuart Holthusen – Akron University, USA
Monty Patterson – Ipswich Town FC, ENG
Alex Rufer – Wellington Phoenix, NZL
Joel Stevens – Wellington Phoenix, NZL
For more on New Zealand football, visit www.nzfootball.co.nz
For more on the FIFA U-20 World Cup visit FIFA.com

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