Four A-League stars from Brisbane Roar, Wellington Phoenix and Central Coast Mariners have been called up for New Zealand's OlyWhites Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games squad.
Former Olyroos star Joey Champness will now represent New Zealand after switching his international eligibility, which will rule him out of a potential Socceroos call-up in the future.
It's likely Champness would have been in the Australian Olyroos Olympic team had it not been for the winger departing the game to focus on a hip-hop career that was then sidelined by COVID-19.
Since returning to the A-League with Brisbane Roar, Champness has been unable to find the form he had prior, that made him a key part of the Olyroos previous set up.
Central Coast Mariners' Gianni Stensness and Wellington Phoenix's Ben Waine and Clayton Lewis round out the current A-League players included in the squad.
Sarpreet Singh misses out on selection after returning to Bayern Munich for pre-season training in a hammer blow for the former Phoenix young gun and the OlyWhites squad.
However Burnley Player of the Year Chris Wood will play for New Zealand at the Olympics after top scoring for the Premier League club in yet another impressive EPL season.
West Ham's Winston Reid will also play, alongside Sint Truiden's Liberato Cacace and Xanthi's Callan Elliot, and Helsingor's Callum McCowatt.
The following 18 players were called up for the 2020 Summer Olympics, along with four travelling reserves.[3] Head coach: 
Danny Hay
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Michael Woud | 16 January 1999 |  Almere City |
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| GK | Jamie Searle | 25 November 2000 | .svg/23px-Flag_of_Wales_(1959–present).svg.png){kind=small} Swansea City |
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| DF | Michael Boxall | 18 August 1988 |  Minnesota United |
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| DF | Liberato Cacace | 27 September 2000 | .svg/23px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small} Sint-Truiden |
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| DF | Callan Elliot | 7 July 1999 |  Xanthi |
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| DF | Dane Ingham | 8 June 1999 | unattached | |||
| DF | Nando Pijnaker | 25 February 1999 |  Rio Ave |
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| DF | Winston Reid | 3 July 1988 |  West Ham United |
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| DF | George Stanger | 15 August 2000 |  Hamilton Academical |
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| MF | Joe Bell | 27 April 1999 |  Viking |
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| MF | Clayton Lewis | 12 February 1997 | Wellington Phoenix |
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| MF | Marko Stamenic | 19 February 2002 |  FC Copenhagen |
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| MF | Gianni Stensness | 7 February 1999 | .svg/23px-Flag_of_Australia_(converted).svg.png){kind=small} Central Coast Mariners |
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| FW | Joe Champness | 27 April 1997 | 0 | 0 | Newcastle Jets |
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| FW | Elijah Just | 1 May 2000 | FC Helsingør |
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| FW | Callum McCowatt | 30 April 1999 | FC Helsingør |
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| FW | Ben Waine | 11 June 2001 | Wellington Phoenix |
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| FW | Chris Wood | 7 December 1991 | Burnley |
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| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Alex Paulsen | 4 July 2002 | Wellington Phoenix |
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| DF | Sam Sutton | 10 December 2001 | Wellington Phoenix |
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| MF | Ben Old | 13 August 2002 | Wellington Phoenix |
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| FW | Matthew Garbett | 13 April 2002 |  Falkenbergs FF |
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