Big congratulations to former Armadale Soccer Club midfielder Tom Biss who has been included in the 21 man squad for the FIFA under 20 World Cup Tournament in Turkey that commences on Friday 21 June.  This lad just goes from strength to strength & all the coaches, players and supporters at Armadale are proud of his achievements.

Check out more at http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/teams/team=1889463/index.html

The past
Surprisingly New Zealand have featured just twice previously at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The Junior All Whites qualified for Canada 2007 where the team equipped itself well on debut, despite going home without a point after three narrow defeats. Colombia 2011 proved a different proposition and, after two hard-fought 1-1 draws against Cameroon and Uruguay, New Zealand were in the hunt for progression until the final moments of the group stage, before ultimately suffering a 1-0 loss to tournament runners-up Portugal.

The present
Despite recording a perfect record in their four Oceania qualifying matches New Zealand enjoyed unusually varied winning margins in the Fiji-based tournament. The Junior All Whites defeated New Caledonia and Vanuatu by just a single goal. At the other end of the scale they dispatched bottom-side Papua New Guinea 5-0, while a second-half onslaught ended the hopes of a second-placed Fiji with four unanswered goals.

The future
With each passing U-20 generation New Zealand seems to have an increasing number of full-time professional players. The Junior All Whites squad boasted four overseas-based players in their qualifying squad, as well as Louis Fenton and Tyler Boyd of A-League side Wellington Phoenix; the nation’s only professional club. While midfielder Tim Payne - a veteran of three previous FIFA tournaments including London 2012 - rejoins the team after a spell with the senior squad. In coach Chris Milicich, the Kiwis have a vastly experienced mentor who also led New Zealand at Colombia 2011 and previously coached Waitakere United at the FIFA Club World Cup.