Anthony Hudson, the New Zealand manager, is hoping that the young players that he has picked for the forthcoming fixture versus South of Korea will step up to the plate and make their claims for a permanent spot.
Hudson’s idea behind picking so many youngsters is to give them a bit of a feel of International Football and see how many of them are ready for the highest level already.
New Zealand would not play too many friendlies ahead of their World Cup qualifying games which means they are not going to have opportunities to test what lies in their back up.
So, for this Korea game, Hudson has opted for a squad full of inexperienced players.
According to Hudson, having watched some of the guys in training, he is quite hopeful. The youngsters have shown the ability to adapt and learn quickly.
Speaking to the reporters yesterday, the boss said, “These blokes are the future and the way they have come and settled in easily, you will have to say that the signs are encouraging.”
“This is a big game from our point of view because we have to identify the guys, the guys that are going to play a role for us in the World Cup qualifying campaign and in future too. I hope they all are geared up to show what they have got and what they can offer to the team.”
The Korea game would be Hudson’s 4th game as manager of New Zealand. He is still in search of his first win in his new role.
However, he has been doing some very good things for All Whites since joining in and that first win might not be that far away, maybe Tuesday is the day.