New Zealand goal keeper Cameron Brown is eying another appearance on the world stage with a New Zealand youth side.
The Auckland City gloveman is currently playing for his country at the OFC U-19 Championship in Tahiti, helping them to the semi-finals where they face New Caledonia.
The 19-year-old said it has been a great tournament for him as New Zealand are one game away from qualifying.
“Realistically we just want to win the tournament that’s our goal but to qualify for the World Cup in Poland is definitely our main goal,” he said.
“It has been going really well for the team. Definitely I think our team harmony has been good, all the lads are getting along really well, and we’re enjoying it and just can’t wait for the semis.
“We really want to get on with it.”
Brown started in two matches in the group stage letting in the lone goal against Tahiti in their opening group match before keeping a clean sheet against Papua New Guinea.
Just like any goalkeeper, Brown insisted that keeping a clean sheet is always a personal goal for any match.
“Definitely as a team you can’t look past the 14-nil win, it’s always good to get some goals but I think for me especially, keeping a clean sheet is always nice.
“Then getting the result against Tahiti the first game, coming into that not really knowing too much about Tahiti, the host nation, I think getting a 2-1 result against them was quite good for us,” he added.
Brown and company will have to avoid a defeat against New Caledonia to fulfill their dream of qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
New Caledonia have shown strong resilience after scraping through a tough all-Melanesian group which included Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji.
“We have had a look at New Caledonia as a team so we’ve got a fair idea, I think as a keeper just try to keep it as tight as possible and prevent them from scoring.
“And a clean sheet would be nice,” Brown concluded.