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Charlie Beale in action for the Wellington Phoenix reserves. Photo / Photomac
Charlie Beale left Tauranga as a teenager with a bright future ahead, departing local football club Tauranga City at 14 to train with A-League side, the Wellington Phoenix.
Now 18, the midfielder will travel with New Zealand’s Under-20 football team in May for the Fifa 2023 U20 World Cup in Indonesia.
And for Beale, it’s an opportunity to show his worth.
The U20 World Cup has proven in the past to be a route to the big leagues. Manchester City’s new striker Erling Haaland, of Norway, made his mark in the competition in 2019 and attracted attention from some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
New Zealand had qualified for the knockout stages at the tournament three times in the last seven years (2015, 2017, 2019) but had never made it into the final eight. Beale said the team would use this as inspiration.
“It’s a chance for us to push,” he said. “It’s a real possibility we could make it into the knockout stages and maybe surprise some people.”
Making it past the group stage was a challenge in itself for a nation whose main sport was not football.
“It hasn’t been easy. Football has always been seen as inferior to rugby in New Zealand, and sometimes I had to ignore what others would say about it and just focus on my love of the sport”.
His focus is paying off.
Beale was discovered by the Phoenix aged 14 and immediately brought to Wellington to join their academy. He recalled not wanting to leave his life in Tauranga behind.
“I loved spending time with my friends and family but once I got the offer to train in Wellington, I had a realisation that I could make something out of football.
Although it was hard at first, his love for football kept him going and progressing. That progression earned him game time for both the national U20 side and the Wellington Phoenix reserves.
Asked about his personal improvement, Beale said he felt he struggled after an early-season concussion but found his way back to play all 90 minutes in each of the last five games in the Central League – an amateur competition run for football clubs located in the southern and central parts of the North Island.
“The concussion was a small setback and I had to fight my way back into the starting line-up, but it was good to get some good game time towards the end”.
The Phoenix finished the season in third place and had a strong performance against eventual Central League winners Wellington Olympic.
Beale is looking to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Haaland and fellow Kiwi Sapreet Singh, who was discovered by Bayern Munich after his strong performance in the 2019 U20 World Cup in Poland.
Beale had ambitions of playing football in Europe and took inspiration from 20-year-old FC Copenhagen player Marko Stamenic, who became the first Kiwi in 15 years to play in the men’s Champions League in September.
– Louis Johnston is a 15-year-old Mount Maunganui College student with a passion for sports and journalism. If you have a community sports story idea, please contact: news@bayofplentytimes.co.nz
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