His name will also adorn the tournament’s Golden Boot trophy after joint-top scoring with fellow Young All White Stuart Holthusen, netting six goals a-piece and pipping Fiji striker Iosefo Verevou, on five goals, to the prize.
Patterson and his New Zealand teammates dominated the field winning five games from five to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup UAE 2013.
He put away a hat-trick in his opening match against the Cook Islands and a steady stream of goals throughout the tournament but it was Match Day 4 against Fiji when the 16-year-old really made his mark.
With the score locked at 1-1, Patterson and his attacking partner Holthusen were brought on by coach Darren Bazeley. Following their arrival New Zealand put three goals in the back of the net, including a Patterson penalty, to secure a 4-2 victory.
This match showed he has the ability to help change the direction of a game, though the youngster may not agree with that assessment.
“I have got lots of good players around me who make it easy for me. They give me lots of good passes that I just have to shoot in,” Patterson says.
“I wasn’t really expecting to win the Golden Ball so I’m pleasantly surprised I guess. I’ve loved it at this tournament. There has been a great amount of people turning up at all the games so the atmosphere has been fantastic. These people are so passionate about their football and it’s been great to be out there playing for them.”
With the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates coming up later this year, Patterson will not be resting on his laurels as he hopes to help his side advance through the group stages.
“I think I’ll work on a bit of fitness ahead of the World Cup because I was starting to cramp up at the end of some of the games here. Then some shooting, because I think I could have scored a few more during this tournament.”
The young striker will return to the New Zealand winter season with his club side Eastern Suburbs before re-joining the national squad as they prepare for the FIFA U-17 World Cup which runs from 17 October to 8 November 2013.