The Oly Whites, who can qualify for London by winning the Oceania qualification tournament held in Taupo between March 16 and 25, play the Frank Rijkaard-coached team at Lakeside Stadium on February 20, then again three days later as a New Zealand ‘A’ side bolstered by four members of Ricki Herbert’s extended All Whites squad.
Saudi Arabia will be in Melbourne to prepare for a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Australia on February 29.
The presence of Ivan Vicelich, Aaron Clapham, David Mulligan and Cole Peverley for the second Saudi game will add vital experience in a squad that will be missing the services of star U-23 players Chris Wood, Tommy Smith, Marco Rojas, Kosta Barbarouses and Jake Gleeson.
“Those guys will be back in the FIFA window when the All Whites play Jamaica but having any of them for the qualifiers remains an outside chance at best due to club commitments,” New Zealand U-23 coach Neil Emblen says.
“We need to learn how to play without them and games like this will certainly expose our local players to a level of football they haven’t experienced before. It will be invaluable.
“To put it in some sort of perspective, we’re playing a team that missed out on automatic qualification for the World Cup in South Africa by goal difference.”
“Being in camp with players who are still very much on Ricki’s radar will add a lot to the young players as well.”
Emblen has named an 18-man squad for the trip with all but three players sourced from the ASB Premiership.
New Zealand U-23 squad for Saudi Arabia
Goalkeepers
Scott BASALAJ (Team Wellington)
Rhyss KEANE (Green Gully, Australia)
Defenders
Michael EAGAR (Team Wellington)
Michael KRAMER (Waikato FC)
James MUSA (Team Wellington)
Tim MYERS (Waitakere United)
Tristan PRATTLEY (Otago United)
Midfielders
Alex FENERIDIS (Auckland City)
Jason HICKS (Waikato FC)
Cameron LINDSAY (Wellington Phoenix)
Adam MCGEORGE (Auckland City)
Daniel SARIC (Unattached)
Adam THOMAS (Waikato FC)
Forwards
Louis FENTON (Team Wellington)
Ethan GALBRAITH (Team Wellington)
Sean LOVEMORE (Waitakere United)
Dakota LUCAS (Team Wellington)
Andy BEVIN (Waitakere United)
Overage Players
Aaron CLAPHAM (Canterbury United)
David MULLIGAN (Auckland City)
Cole PEVERLEY (Canterbury United)
Ivan VICELICH (Auckland City)
Staff
Head Coach: Neil EMBLEN
Assistant Coach: Chris ZORICICH
GK Coach: Mark OATES
Technical Advisor: Raul BLANCO
Doctor: Dr. Mark FULCHER
Physio: Roland JEFFREY
Massage Therapist: Tawhai WHITEWOOD
Project Manager: Brian TURNER
Equipment Manager: Seamus MARTEN
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz

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