PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers today announced that goalkeeper Jake Gleeson has been added to the New Zealand National Team roster for the 2012 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Nations Cup held in Honiara, Solomon Islands, from June 2-12.
Gleeson, 21, was called up for New Zealand’s U.S.-based friendlies against El Salvador and Honduras last week and will remain with the All-Whites through the end of the OFC Nations Cup. He is scheduled to return to Portland on June 13, and will not miss a league match while on extended national team duty.
In the OFC Nations Cup, New Zealand will compete in Group B, facing Fiji on Saturday, Papua New Guinea on Monday, June 4, and host Solomon Islands on Wednesday, June 6. The top two teams from each group will advance to the tournament semifinals held Friday, June 8. The OFC Nations Cup final will take place Sunday, June 10. OFC Nations Cup matches will all be played at Lawson Tama Stadium.
The winner of the OFC Nations Cup qualifies for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, while the top four teams from the tournament advance to OFC Stage 3 qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, beginning in September.
Gleeson, from Wellington, New Zealand, has one cap with the New Zealand National Team. His recent call-up for the friendlies in the United States was his second with the senior team. In March, Gleeson helped the New Zealand U-23 National Team qualify for the 2012 London Olympics and has also represented the All-Whites at the U-20 and U-17 levels. In 2007, he led the New Zealand U-17 National Team to the OFC U-17 Championship and competed in the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea.
