Football: U23 squad punt must pay

Anthony Hudson. Photo / Getty

Anthony Hudson is a bit of a gambler. In his short tenure at New Zealand Football, he's chosen some experimental All Whites squads to build depth for the future.

It also feels like he has taken some bold chances with the Oly-Whites team, selected for the Oceania Olympic qualification tournament which starts in Papua New Guinea on Friday.

It will be an extremely demanding campaign, with five games in 10 days for the eventual finalists, all played in unforgiving tropical sun and humidity.

Playing one game in Port Moresby? That's bad enough. Playing every second day, on unforgiving pitches with sometimes hostile crowds? That's a whole other story. And the competitiveness at this level is ever-increasing.

In 2009, when New Zealand hosted the last Olympic qualifying tournament in Taupo, the Oly-Whites scraped through with an edgy 1-0 win over Fiji in the final. It's the kind of environment where experience will be vital to cope with the challenges, on and off the field, but this team looks a bit short.

Of course, there are always extenuating factors, and the decision to allow Ryan Thomas and Tyler Boyd to have uninterrupted pre-seasons in Europe is sensible and may pay off in the future.

But Tim Payne and Cameron Howieson, if available for selection, might have been handy, particularly as both were involved in the 2012 Nations Cup in Honiara which had a similarly crazy schedule in oppressive conditions.

And considering Hudson will need to rotate his squad, and have a full second XI, conventional wisdom would have suggested that Adam Mitchell's experience would have been useful, given he has been involved with the Junior All Whites for most of the last two years and even attended an All Whites camp.

The same goes for Matt Ridenton while Cory Brown, who impressed against Portugal in the Under-20 World Cup also springs to mind.

"I picked a group of players I think have shown all the qualities we need to get to Rio," said Hudson. "I don't pick players because they are based anywhere or playing anywhere. I would never pick a player because they are at a certain club. I pick players on what I see and characteristics we are looking for."

Hudson is his own man and backs his judgement, an essential quality for a coach. He's never taken a team to the Islands before but also hopes his favoured high-energy, pressing style of play can be implemented during the tournament.

"We don't have only one way of playing," said Hudson. "We will decide when we are there based on the opposition, state of the game, score in the game, time of the game.

"It's all about how we adapt. [But that] style of play is something we played in the Middle East where it is incredibly hot and where the culture and mentality of the players [is different and] it is not the natural thing to run and chase and work hard. We'll have a balance so we can pick and choose."

The importance of this event can't be underestimated. Qualifying for Rio is a vital link in the chain for World Cup qualification, guaranteeing a series of valuable high level matches next year.

"I understand the outcome of this tour," said Hudson. "You won't find me at the end looking for excuses. All our games are going to be very tough. We are not going into this like it will be a walk in a park."

New Zealand face the Solomon Islands on July 3, followed by PNG (July 5) and New Caledonia (July 7).