Английская Википедия:Benjamin Mata

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:EngvarB Шаблон:Infobox football biography

Benjamin Mata (born 10 August 1998) is a Cook Islands footballer who currently plays as a central defender for Wellington Olympic and the Cook Islands national team.

Club career

Mata began his youth career with Wanderers SC.[1] After his departure from the club he joined Onehunga Sports.[2] The following season he was signed to the reserve side of Wellington Phoenix of the A-League.[3][4] He was one of two players to receive the Winston Reid Scholarship to join the club.[5]

In 2017 he committed to play college soccer in the United States for the Bears of Missouri State University.[6] However, he did not go on to appear for the team.[7]

In 2018 Mata joined Papakura City for one season.[8][1] In 2019 he joined Tupapa Maraerenga of the Cook Islands Round Cup. He made two appearances for the club in 2019 OFC Champions League qualification, scoring three goals.[9][10]

Later in 2019 he moved to Team Wellington. He remained with the club until 2021 when he signed across town with Wellington Olympic.[11] During his first season with Olympic, Mata helped the team win the Central League title that season.[12][13] After the move to Olympic he was named captain of the squad.[14][15]

International

Mata represented his native New Zealand at the youth level. He made his debut for the nation at the 2015 OFC U-17 Championship.[1][16] After qualifying as champions of the 2017 OFC U-17 Championship, he was then part of the squad that advanced to the round of 16 in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He captained the side in the team's round of 16 loss to Brazil.[7]

In March 2022 it was confirmed that Mata had committed to representing the Cook Islands internationally and had been included in the nation’s squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[17][18] He went on to make his senior international debut on 17 March 2022 in the opening match against the Solomon Islands. He served as captain of the squad in his first-ever appearance.[19]

International career statistics

Шаблон:Updated[20]

Cook Islands
Year Apps Goals
2022 1 0
Total 1 0

Personal

Mata was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He is the brother of fellow footballer Max Mata.[7][12]

References

Шаблон:Reflist

External links