After stamping his mark on his side’s Olympic qualifying campaign by scoring eight of the New Zealand U-23 team’s 22 goals during the group stages in Suva, young All Whites striker Myer Bevan can’t wait for Wednesday’s semi-final against hosts Fiji.

Going into the match at Lautoka’s Churchill Park, the 22-year-old who leads the race for the tournament’s Golden Boot award, couldn’t be any more pleased with the way the competition has gone to date.

“I enjoyed it out here, I mean it’s always good to wear the fern and to score goals is even better, so I am happy to be here,” he said.

Following a three-year stint as a professional, which included time in the North American  Major League Soccer competition with Canada’s Vancouver Whitecaps as well as a brief loan spell in the Swedish third tier with Husqvarna FF, Bevan is happy to be back in New Zealand and on the books of Auckland City FC.

And after missing out on New Zealand’s impressive FIFA U-20 World Cup campaign in Poland in May and as well as on June’s Pacific Games in Samoa, where Des Buckingham’s U-23 side claimed gold, the prolific striker is delighted to be part of his country’s  Olympic quest.

“It is special, I think a lot of people want to go to the Olympics and it’s an age group thing so at under-23 so you only get a couple shots at this,” he said.

“So if we can get a couple of good results and go it will be unbelievable.

“It will be highest for sure I have been only age-group World Cups so Olympics for sure will be the best, added the young All White.

Des Buckingham’s side is a close-knit unit and Bevan credits the positive culture and identity of the team as the key ingredient in their successes so far.

“It’s special, the way that we are a team off the field creates such a big part of what we do on the field so I think it’s very good having the culture off the field and it’s shown in the results so far,” he explained

New Zealand’s leading scorer is hoping the results will keep coming for his side in the knock-out stages, starting with Wednesday’s semi against Fiji.

“I expect it will be a good crowd here and all them boys will be up for it,” he said.

“On your home ground you want to impressive your own people so it will be a tough game I think, but of course, we go into every game with confidence no matter who we play so we want to go out there and show what we can do and win games, added the in-form Kiwi striker.

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