Stellenbosch FC striker Andre De Jong has admitted that he would like to be in New Zealand’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad though he knows it won’t be easy.
The All Whites are one of seven countries to have confirmed their participation at the event to be held by USA, Canada and Mexico topping qualifying Group B in the Oceania qualifiers with nine points in three matches. This is the first time New Zealand will be at the World Cup in 16 years.
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De Jong, who hasn’t been called up to the national team since 2022, spoke to iDiski Times Editor Rob Delport in edition 201 of the newspaper where he said he understands why he hasn’t had an opportunity.
The 28-year-old however hopes that with Bafana Bafana doing well and South African clubs also doing well in inter-continental competitions can grab the attention of the New Zealand national selectors as proof that he is playing in a decent league.
“A very good question, one I get a lot within the South African football circles, but yeah, unfortunately, I haven’t been called up for the last couple of years into Darren Bazley’s squad in terms of the All Whites setup,” De Jong told iDiski Times.
“But I still, definitely hold thumbs that one day I’ll be back in the mix and that he is keeping his tabs and tracking me over here. But yeah, just at this rate, he’s obviously ranking leagues around the world as a bit of a higher level to the one that I’m currently playing, that and that’s just the unfortunate nature of national team football.
“And yeah, when not all the players play in the same league, and that it is quite hard to compare player to player and position to position, it’s just one of those things that unfortunately I’ve come to terms with and always knocking on the door and very hopeful of a call up one day.
“But yeah, just have to keep trying to perform within South Africa, and hopefully with Bafana Bafana’s very good performances, as well as the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup South African very good performances, hopefully that is pushing the case that the league is strong over in South Africa and Africa in general, and that it does compare quite favourably to a lot of the other leagues around the world.”
