\u201cThose are always the nicest phone calls,\u201d Bazeley said. \u201cOften you have to let players down in this job and so to bring people in on debut, it\u2019s a privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a reward for the eye catching start to the season by the capital club, though they have all been on the radar. Sheridan and Walker have previously represented New Zealand at age-group level, though it will be Piper\u2019s first taste of international activity.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has moved around positionally he looks like he\u2019s settled up front,\u201d Bazeley said of Piper. \u201cHe\u2019s a handful, works tremendously hard and he\u2019s a goal threat. We felt it was the right option, to come in, work with Woodsy and give us something different.<\/p>\n
Walker has been picked on potential but he is an exciting prospect.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were looking for a wide player, with pace, somebody that could excite the crowd, and he fits that bill,\u201d Bazeley said.<\/p>\n
Like Piper and Walker, Bazeley has known Sheridan for a long time \u2013 taking him to the 2024 Olympics in Paris – and has noted his progression.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s found his home,\u201d Bazeley said. \u201cHe\u2019s playing really well at right back, he gets forward, he fits the mould of what we are looking for in a fullback.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheridan gets his opportunity due to the unavailability of Tim Payne, still settling into life in Paraguay after his major post-World Cup move. Balancing club demands is the primary reason for the absence of many front liners. Joe Bell is coming off a heavy workload in Norway, while Elijah Just has a lot of competition in his favoured position at Swansea. Stamenic has played a lot lately \u2013 including on the recent tour to China and Japan \u2013 and is also managing a minor back strain, while Ben Old is fighting for a spot at St Etienne.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome guys have niggles but mostly it\u2019s around how far it is to travel,\u201d Bazeley explained. \u201cWhat we\u2019ve seen over the last few years is that when players travel this far, when they go back to their clubs, a lot of the time they lose their starting position because they have been away. So it\u2019s a real balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarpreet Singh is a notable withdrawal. It was a difficult decision for the player, who would have relished the chance to face India, where both his parents are from.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis club have a game in the window,\u201d said Bazeley. \u201cHe was desperate to come back because its India but he also knows that he\u2019s just got back in the starting line-up for his club, he\u2019s playing well and he\u2019s fit. So if he leaves, misses the game, how long will it take to win his place back?\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ben Waine and Libby Cacace are both injured, while Max Crocombe will not make the trip, with Paulsen seen as the No 1. Veteran centre back Michael Boxall has a game during the window, while Bazeley said it was time to prioritise match time for the younger defenders like Surman and Tyler Bindon. Garbett is the bonus, sorely missed in North America, after the hamstring injury on the eve of the Iran match.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were all gutted to see miss out on the Fifa World Cup,\u201d Bazeley said. \u201cIt is great he is back so quickly as he is an important player for this team now and going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The squad features seven Phoenix players, six from Auckland FC and Western Sydney Wanderers forward Liam Gillion, which is partly a pragmatic decision from Bazeley.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always try to limit travel unless you are going to get good game time,\u201d Bazeley said. \u201cSo does coming from Europe make sense when we\u2019ve got good players here in the A-League? It\u2019s a big opportunity for them. We\u2019ve got 13 World Cup players missing but we have still got plenty of good players coming into camp, with a point to prove.\u201d<\/p>\n
All Whites \u2013 November international window<\/p>\n
Squad<\/p>\n
Goalkeepers: Henry Gray, Alex Paulsen, Michael Woud<\/p>\n
Defenders: Callan Elliot, Matt Sheridan; Tyler Bindon, Nando Pijnaker, Finn Surman, Bill Tuiloma; Francis de Vries, James McGarry<\/p>\n
Midfielders: Lachlan Bayliss, Matt Garbett, Callum McCowatt, Owen Parker-Price, Alex Rufer<\/p>\n
Forwards: Liam Gillion, Corban Piper, Jesse Randall, Logan Rogerson, Nathan Walker, Chris Wood<\/p>\n
New Zealand vs India series<\/p>\n
November 12, 7pm: Go Media Stadium, Auckland<\/p>\n
November 15, 4pm: One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch<\/p>\n
Michael Burgess<\/a> has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America\u2019s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThose are always the nicest phone calls,\u201d Bazeley said. \u201cOften you have to let players down in this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5263,2851,110260,8834,79800,5904,78,2344,212454,5812,3025,21409,111,139,69,3111,10702,13109,213,1557,187620,1529,1315,32951,183366,6123,5264,14443],"class_list":["post-649369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-all","tag-also","tag-bazeley","tag-big","tag-darren","tag-final","tag-in","tag-india","tag-intriguing","tag-make","tag-most","tag-names","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-out","tag-players","tag-several","tag-sports","tag-squad","tag-tenure","tag-three","tag-trip","tag-turns","tag-uncapped","tag-while","tag-whites","tag-wont"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}