Shock Dutch callup for All White
A promising young All White could be lost to New Zealand Football after being caught in the middle of an international tug of war.
Goalkeeper Michael Woud is in the frame for a shock callup to the Netherlands under-20 squad for a friendly against Portugal next month.
The 19-year-old has been named in the preliminary squad, with the final selection to be revealed next week.
No-one from New Zealand Football wished to comment yesterday.
Born in Auckland, Woud has a Dutch passport and remains eligible to play for the Netherlands, as his lone appearance for the All Whites came in a friendly match in June. Players are only tied to a country once they play a competitive senior fixture, such as a World Cup qualifier.
Under Fifa rules, players are only permitted to change their nationality once, meaning Woud would be lost to the All Whites if he seeks to play for the Netherlands.
He is widely regarded as the country’s future No 1, and was a notable omission from the New Zealand squad for this month’s Oceania under-19 championship, as he was not released by his Dutch club Willem II.
Woud joined the Eredivisie side from English club Sunderland last month, where he had a year to run on a professional deal signed in 2016.
Last year he was one of the standout players as New Zealand were knocked out of the under-20 World Cup in South Korea in the round of 16. That was his second appearance at an international tournament, following the under17 World Cup in Chile in 2015.
Born in 1999, he was set to be involved in the campaign for next year’s under-20 World Cup in Poland.