New faces in Futsal Whites squad for eight-nation tournament in China

Two new caps are included in a 14-player New Zealand men’s squad to compete at an eight-nation international futsal tournament in China in September.

Corbin Fell, from Australia’s River City Futsal, and Southern United’s Cooper Wink get their first Futsal Whites call-up for the CFA International Futsal Tournament to be held from September 5-11, 2025.

After playing at the tournament in Shijizhuang, China, the Futsal Whites will head to Fiji for the OFC Futsal Nations Cup, to be staged from September 20-24, 2025.

Main photo: Futsal Whites head coach Marvin Eakins … time to test new combinations and fresh players.

“At this stage of our cycle, our priority is to play as many matches as possible, to test new combinations and introduce fresh players into the environment,” head coach Marvin Eakins said.

“These fixtures provide the perfect opportunity to do that.”

The New Zealand team’s most recent games were at August’s Continental Futsal Championships in Thailand where they lost to Australia (1-0), Chinese Taipei (2-1) and Thailand (10-0).

“While we were disappointed with the results in Thailand, at this stage of the cycle it’s about our performances and exposing new players to the international stage,” Eakins said.

“Our focus is the big picture of qualifying to the next FIFA Futsal World Cup, so we’re tracking well and looking forward to getting stuck in again and starting to turn the performances into results.

“We haven’t faced Oceania teams since our FIFA Futsal World Cup qualification, so the OFC Futsal Cup is an ideal opportunity to see where we stand against our Pacific neighbours.

“These are the opponents who will challenge us for a place at the 2028 FIFA Futsal World Cup, so testing ourselves against them now is an invaluable part of our preparations.”

New Zealand squad

Here are the Futsal Whites for the CFA International Futsal Tournament in China:

Rahan Ali – Moreland Blues Futsal, Australia
Stephen Ashby-Peckham – Auckland City, New Zealand
Ben Cameron – Canterbury United Dragons, New Zealand
Jordi Ditfort – Unattached
Philip Fatialofa – Capital Futsal. New Zealand
*Corbin Fell – River City Futsal, Australia
Michael Gealogo – Capital Futsal, New Zealand
Hamish Grey – Zambu CFS Pinatar, Spain
Ethan Martin – ZVV Kroeven, Netherlands
Thomas Picken – Black Shorts Futsal Club, Japan
Casey Sharplin – Waikato Rapids, New Zealand
Patrick Steele – Waikato Rapids, New Zealand
*Cooper Wink – Southern United, New Zealand
Logan Wisnewski – Unattached

*Indicates first Futsal Whites call-up

CFA International Futsal Tournament

The tournament will be hosted at the Shijiazhuang College Sports Venue in Shijiazhuang, China.

New Zealand (FIFA world ranking #40) have been drawn in Group B with Myanmar (#56), Cambodia (#126), and Indonesia (#23).

Group A features the hosts China PR (#85), Korea Republic (#73), United Arab Emirates (#103) and Denmark (#72).

Group placings will determine semi-final fixtures, with the semi-final results determining their final play-off matches (1st v 2nd, 3rd v 4th and so on).

Some matches at the CFA International Futsal Tournament will be livestreamed by the Chinese Football Association, with links to be advised later.

Fixtures

Game to be played on Friday September 5, 2025

Myanmar v New Zealand
Shijiazhuang College Sports Venue, Shijiazhuang, China, 2.30pm (NZT)

Games to be played on Saturday September 6, 2025

Cambodia v New Zealand
Shijiazhuang College Sports Venue, Shijiazhuang, China, 2.30pm (NZT)

Games to be played on Monday September 8, 2025

Indonesia v New Zealand
Shijiazhuang College Sports Venue, Shijiazhuang, China, 2.30pm (NZT)

OFC Futsal Nations Cup

The five-nation tournament will take place from September 20-24, 2025, at Suva’s Vodafone Arena.

Two matches will be played daily, with each national team receiving one bye, in a round-robin competition.

OFC associate member Tuvalu, making their long-awaited return to the competition after last appearing in 2011, sit out the opening day before facing New Zealand in their first fixture.

New Zealand, Oceania’s representatives at last year’s FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan and rated #40 in the FIFA men’s world rankings, will be joined at the tournament by hosts Fiji (#80), Vanuatu (#74), Solomon Islands (#59), and Tuvalu (unranked).

The tournament winner will be decided on total points accumulated, with goal difference and then goals scored serving as tiebreakers if required.

All games at the OFC Futsal Cup will be broadcast live and free on FIFA+,

Fixtures

Games to be played on Saturday September 20, 2025

New Zealand v Solomon Islands
Vodafone Arena, Suva, 4pm (NZT)

Vanuatu v Fiji
Vodafone Arena, Suva, 7pm (NZT)

Games to be played on Sunday September 21 2025

New Zealand v Tuvalu
Vodafone Arena, Suva, 4pm (NZT)

Solomon Islands v Fiji
Vodafone Arena, Suva, 7pm (NZT)

Games to be played on Monday September 22, 2025

Solomon Islands v Vanuatu
Vodafone Arena, Suva, 4pm (NZT)

Fiji v Tuvalu
Vodafone Arena, Suva, 7pm (NZT)

Games to be played on Tuesday September 23, 2025

Tuvalu v Vanuatu
Vodafone Arena, Suva, 4pm (NZT)

Fiji v New Zealand
Vodafone Arena, Suva, 7pm (NZT)

Games to be played on Wednesday September 24, 2025

Vanuatu v New Zealand
Vodafone Arena, Suva, 4pm (NZTT)

Tuvalu v Solomon Islands
Vodafone Arena, Suva, 7pm (NZTT)

Past winners: OFC Futsal Nations Cup

This story was first published on September 2, 2025.

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