The Central Coast Mariners are proud to announce that new signing Will Martin has been named in New Zealand’s 21-player squad for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026.
The 16-year-old goalkeeper becomes the fourth Mariner selected for the tournament, joining Oliver O’Carroll, Luke Becvinovski and Callum McCaskey, who were named in Australia’s CommBank Joeys squad. Fellow Mariner Aston Reid is also on standby for the Joeys.
Martin recently joined the Mariners on a scholarship from Queensland Lions FC. The 1.94-metre goalkeeper is one of six players returning from New Zealand’s 2025 U-17 World Cup squad, giving him the chance to represent his country at the tournament for a second time.
New Zealand head coach Martin Bullock has kept much of his qualifying squad together, selecting 17 players from the group that won the 2025 OFC U-16 Men’s Championship in the Solomon Islands. Martin is one of four Australia-based players named in the squad.
New Zealand will open their Group G campaign against Mali, whom they also faced in the group stage last year. It will be the fourth meeting between the two nations at a FIFA U-17 World Cup, making Mali New Zealand’s most frequent opponent in the tournament. New Zealand will then face Vietnam and Belgium, both for the first time at this level of the World Cup.
Bullock said last year’s meeting with Mali gave his players a clear sense of what it takes to compete at this level. The rematch gives them a chance to see how far they’ve come since that campaign.
The tournament runs from 19 November to 13 December. Congratulations, Will. We look forward to following you and our CommBank Joeys in Qatar.
New Zealand’s Group G fixtures
All kick-off times are in Central Coast time (AEDT). Matches are at Aspire Zone in Doha, Qatar.
Mali v New Zealand
Saturday 21 November
12:30am kick-off
Aspire Zone – Pitch 1, Doha, Qatar
Vietnam v New Zealand
Tuesday 24 November (NZT)
2:30am kick-off
Aspire Zone – Pitch 8, Doha, Qatar
New Zealand v Belgium
Friday 27 November (NZT)
Midnight kick-off
Aspire Zone – Pitch 4, Doha, Qatar
