Orlando Pirates forward Andre de Jong will get a chance to fight for his place in the New Zealand squad for the World Cup after being named in the squad for the friendly against Finland and Chile this month.
This player (29) came to this country in 2019, to play for AmaZulu. After leaving Usuthu in 2022, he played for Royal AM before moving to Stellenbosch FC. He signed for Zimnyama in January this year.
De Jong has scored three goals in the 11 games he has played in the 2025/26 season.
Kwezika Magebhula has one goal in six games, which was a penalty kick against Tshakuma Tsha Madzivhandila in the Nedbank Cup.
When he joined the Soweto team in January, De Jong did not hide that one of the things that attracted him was to increase the chances of going to the World Cup which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June to July this year.
In the national team, he has scored two goals in the 11 games he has played since he played for the first time in 2018.
He spent more than two years without being called up to the national team before he returned to the national team in October last year where he played from the bench against Poland, and did not enter the next one against Norway.
He was called up again in November last year, to face Colombia and Ecuador in a friendly, and ended up sitting on the bench for both.
New Zealand’s coach, Darren Bazeley, emphasized that the games they will play against Finland and Chile are an opportunity for the players called to prove themselves.
“These games are very important as we continue preparations for the World Cup. It is exciting to select this team to play for the last time in front of our fans before this big tournament,” said Bazeley on the New Zealand Football website.
“We know that the time is approaching for us to announce the squad that we will take with us to the World Cup, so it is good that we can give the players the opportunity to reserve places for themselves, especially since there are some who are used to playing and are not there.”
In the World Cup, New Zealand will start in Group G where they have been drawn with Belgium, Egypt and Iran.
If De Jong joins the team that will go to this tournament, Pirates will benefit from him.
In the World Cup held in Qatar, Fifa paid 10 950 USD (approximately R182 900) for the day each player spent preparing for the tournament, as well as the days he spent playing in it.
