Chris Wood on brink of New Zealand record ahead of latest international camp

The All Whites will face The Gambia, and a yet to be announced side in the UAE, with Wood one of 11 players in the 21-man squad who helped reached the quarter-finals of the Olympics at Tokyo 2020.

Wood - who netted his second Premier League goal of the season against Brentford on Saturday - goes into the camp three goals away from matching Vaughan Coveny as his nation's all-time top scorer.

Head Coach Danny Hay said: “It’s great we are able to get together again so quickly after two good performances last month.

“We need to be playing games to develop as a team, especially after such a long break prior to October, so we want to take every opportunity we can.

“These games will allow us to look at a few new players who weren’t part of the last window as we continue to build towards FIFA World Cup qualifiers next year.”

The national association explain that all of the squad are vaccinated against COVID-19, as is required for playing and training in Abu Dhabi.

The All Whites face The Gambia on Tuesday, November 16th and a yet to be announced side in a warm-up fixture on Friday, November 12th, both games at the Zayed Sport City Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

The full 21-man squad is: Stefan Marinovic (26 Caps) Hapoel Nof HaGalil, Israel; Jamie Searle (0 Caps) Swansea City, Wales; Michael Woud (3 Caps) Almere City FC, Netherlands; Michael Boxall (35 Caps) Minnesota United, USA; Liberato Cacace (5 Caps) Sint-Truidense VV, Belgium; Francis De Vries (0 Caps) IFK Värnamo, Sweden; Kelvin Kalua (2 Caps) Eastern Suburbs, New Zealand (currently on trial in Europe); Niko Kirwan (2 Caps) Padova, Italy; Nando Pijnaker (3 Caps) FC Helsingør (loan from Rio Ave FC), Denmark; Tommy Smith (40 Caps) Colchester United, England; Bill Tuiloma (27 Caps) Portland Timbers, USA; Joe Bell (4 Caps) Viking FK, Norway; Matthew Garbett (2 Caps) Torino, Italy; Sarpreet Singh (7 Caps) SSV Jahn Regensburg (loan from FC Bayern Münich), Germany; Marko Stamenic (2 Caps) HB Køge (on loan from FC Copenhagen), Denmark; Joseph Champness (1 Cap) Giresunspor, Turkey; Elliot Collier (2 Caps) Chicago Fire, USA; Andre de Jong (6 Caps) AmaZulu FC, South Africa; Elijah Just (4 Caps) FC Helsingør, Denmark; Callum McCowatt (3 Caps) FC Helsingør, Denmark; Chris Wood (59 Caps) Burnley FC, England.