Coach Anthony Hudson yesterday named an All Whites side infused with fresh talent for the game against South Korea in Seoul on March 31.
Eight new players have been named, with four of them based offshore. Defender Themistoklis Tzimopoulos (29) joins the squad from Greek club PAS Giannina.
Midfielder Benjamin van den Broek (27), playing in Romania with Universitatea Cluj, New Zealand age-group representative goalkeepers Max Crocombe (Oxford United) and Stefan Marinovic (SpVgg Unterhaching, Germany) have also been included.
Hudson said the inclusion of Tzimopoulos and van den Broek had come directly from the worldwide search for players eligible to play for the New Zealand side.
''We've had many names come to us and just a few of those ... we felt could come in and add quality and depth to the squad, and those are two we've selected,'' he said.
''Themi actually came from someone who reached out to us from down in Wellington. That's where his family is from. Benjamin was applying for citizenship and Ryan Thomas told us about him and helped him through the process.
''Since those names were given to us, we've been following their games, watching previous games and we've recently made the decision that now is the time to bring them in.''
Four New Zealand-based players will also make their first All Whites trip.
Auckland City FC pair Sam Burfoot (20) and Ryan De Vries (23) will be in line for their first senior international caps while Wanderers SC squad members Sam Brotherton and Clayton Lewis (both 18) are also named.
