Ryan Thomas #23

Profile

Arguably the most gifted Kiwi player in a generation, he has had a career blighted by knee injuries – leading to gruesome surgery requiring his knees to be broken and lowered. He was only 19 when he made his debut for the All Whites and also starred for PEC Zwolle as a teenager, scoring twice in its shock 5-1 defeat of Ajax in the 2014 Dutch Cup final. He moved to PSV Eindhoven but in his first week ruptured his ACL. Out of the national side for six years, he went through dark times struggling with the mental impact of his injuries which led to him not watching football anymore. However, the surgery has now made him pain-free and he returned to the All Whites last year. “I'm just really happy to be part of the group again and being a part of something bigger than just club football,” he told RNZ regarding his World Cup hopes. The Dutch-Kiwi has been speaking only Dutch for five years and in an All Whites’ setting feels “a little bit of an idiot”, trying to converse in English. “I'm not exactly a Kiwi anymore and it kind of annoys me," he says.

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