Moss happy to be back with All Whites
Having been absent for more than two years, goalkeeper Glen Moss says it’s good to be back in the All Whites mix.
The 33-year-old Wellington Phoenix custodian last played for the national side against Uzbekistan in September 2014, Anthony Hudson’s first game in charge, but has been absent from the Englishman’s last six squads, for a wide range of reasons.
First, it was because Hudson wanted to cast his eye over all the options he had available, with Moss’ qualities already plain to see.
At the end of last year, Moss was left out of two squads due to personal reasons, and in May when the squad for the Oceania Nations Cup was announced, he was recovering from an eye injury.
Most recently, for last month’s games against Mexico and the United States, Hudson put Moss’ omission down to the fact that the Phoenix were yet to begin their season, while those chosen - Stefan Marinovic, Tamati Williams and Jake Gleeson - were already playing week-in, week out with their club sides.
Hudson revealed last week that Moss had made a trip up to Auckland to talk to him about selection after missing out on the most recent squad.
‘‘One of the things that players respect in a manager is approachability and communication,’’ said Moss.
‘‘Whether I have been in the squad or out of the squad Anthony has been brilliant, he has always picked up the phone and called me so I thought the least I could do was go up there on my day off and have a coffee with him and talk about how much I wanted to be in this group.
‘‘I always had my hand up for selection, it wasn’t like I wasn’t picked in that squad and I threw my toys and said ‘that was it’, I have to take manager’s decisions like that and I am so excited to be back in.’’
The squad gathered in Auckland on Monday ahead of a pair of World Cup qualifiers against New Caledonia, the first of which takes place this Saturday at QBE Stadium.
It remains to be seen whether Moss will receive an opportunity in goal for the All Whites during this window, with Germany-based Marinovic firmly ensconced as the team’s No 1, having started their last 10 matches, and Williams also in the squad.
For his part, Moss is just happy to be back in the picture.
‘‘You have seen Tama and Stefan have shown that they are worthy of being in the environment and I am looking forward to working with them,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve got a solid squad and that’s what we need if we want to get back to where we want to be, and that’s at World Cups.’’
The last time the All Whites played New Caledonia was in the semifinals of the ONC in June, where they struggled to a 1-0 win, with the lone goal benefiting from a goalkeeping howler.
They appeared to have put their struggles in that event behind them last month, looking as impressive against Mexico and the US as they have at any point since the 2010 World Cup, but that doesn’t mean they will be taking New Caledonia lightly, said Moss.
‘‘They are one of the best teams in the islands so they’re a team that we’ve got to respect. There are no easy games now. Gone are the days where you win against the island teams quite easily. ’’