Hay poised to unveil latest squad

The All Whites are set to be without two key midfielders as they try to beat Costa Rica in a one-off playoff for a place at this year’s World Cup in Qatar next month.

Ryan Thomas was ruled out a month ago and Sarpreet Singh is expected to join him in being absent when a 26-strong squad is named tomorrow as he treads cautiously with his recovery from a pelvic injury.

The attacking midfielder has said he has ‘‘a long way to go’’ until he will know he’s fit to play and that he wouldn’t ‘‘want to take a risk with [his] body if it’s going to set [him] back for a very long time’’.

Costa Rica stand in the All Whites’ way on June 15 on neutral territory in Doha, Qatar, where the main event will be held in November and December. Before that, they will take on Peru in a friendly in Barcelona on June 6. A second warmup match, planned for June 10, is yet to be confirmed.

Seven players have been everpresent from the Olympics – where only three players born before 1997 were allowed – through Oceania World Cup qualifying in March – forwards Chris Wood, Elijah Just and Callum McCowatt, midfielders Joe Bell, Matt Garbett and Marko Stamenic, and defender Nando Pijnaker.

Since October, when the All Whites played their first match in almost two years, there have been another eight who have joined those seven in playing more than 300 minutes – goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic, defenders Liberato Cacace, Francis de Vries, Niko Kirwan, Winston Reid, Tommy Smith and Bill Tuiloma, and forward Joey Champness.

Then there are Kosta Barbarouses, Clayton Lewis, Tim Payne and Oli Sail, who have all made at least two starts since Covid-19 travel restrictions eased and made selecting A-Leagues players possible, as well as Alex Greive, who has been the bolter this year after a strong start to life as a professional in Scotland.

It would be a surprise if any of those 20 players were to be missing tomorrow, which leaves six more spots to be filled.

One will be for a third goalkeeper, most likely one of the trio of Matthew Gould, Jamie Searle and Michael Woud who have been in squads so far this year.

Michael Boxall and Marco Rojas are set to be on board in June, adding much-needed experience to a youthful squad.

Andre de Jong, Logan Rogerson and Ben Waine would be the three leading contenders to round out the squad.