Brown gets call-up to Junior All Whites
Nelson’s Cory Brown will get another chance to stake his claim ahead of the Fifa Under-20 World Cup after being named in the Junior All Whites squad for a twomatch tour of Uzbekistan next month.
Even though the Xavier University defender has been a regular in the team for the past 12 months, the trip to Tashkent will have some added importance for all the players as New Zealand under-20 coach Darren Bazeley looks to finalise his squad ahead of the world cup in May.
‘‘Being at Xavier it’s difficult for the coaches to know where I’m at with fitness and how I’m progressing with football so every opportunity I get is going to be important,’’ Brown said from his university campus in Cincinnati. ‘‘I do see this one being more important than ones from last year so it’s going to be a crucial trip for me.’’
To highlight the calibre of the competition within the New Zealand under-20 squad, four of the six defenders have been called into the All Whites in recent months, with Deklan Wynne and Sam Brotherton included in the squad to play South Korea on April 1, while Wynne, Jesse Edge and Adam Mitchell were called up for matches against China and Thailand in November.
Though Brown is yet to be part of the All Whites setup – he was approached by New Zealand Football in November but wasn’t released by Xavier University – he isn’t feeling any disappointment and was looking forward to representing his country at under-20 level.
‘‘It’s always special to be called up to play for your country. I don’t think it could ever get old.
‘‘It would have been nice to be selected for the All Whites but I’m not necessarily disappointed, I would have missed an important spring game at Xavier, had I been selected, so it’s not all bad. Just shows that I still have areas to work on,’’ he said.
The former Nayland College student briefly spoke with All Whites coach Anthony Hudson when he was back in New Zealand for summer, and Hudson was in attendance when Brown featured twice for Wanderers SC in the ASB Premiership.
He believed it was a good motivator to know the national team coach is aligning the age-group teams with the All Whites, and if he plays well his time will come eventually.
‘‘It definitely gives players around my age a lot of incentive to keep progressing. It’s great that Anthony is willing to throw younger players in and it’s only going to help them get better.
‘‘Things would have to fall into place with timing and school but I think I have a chance eventually. I’m not too worried at the moment. With the under-20 world cup coming up I’m only focusing on being selected for that.’’
Brown had a successful freshman year at Xavier University in 2014, earning a team high 23 starts and being part of a resolute defensive four that set a programme record for most clean sheets.
He and former Nayland College teammate Alex Ridsdale – who is also at Xavier University – have just finished a monthlong pre-season training period which mainly involved fitness and gym work as they gear up for the 2015 campaign.
The Junior All Whites play Uzbekistan in Tashkent on April 4 and April 6, and Brown will travel directly from the United States.