New Zealand skipper Winston Reid announces international retirement

New Zealand captain Winston Reid will retire from international football after Sunday’s friendly against Australia in front of home fans in Auckland, the former West Ham United stalwart said on Monday.

The 34-year-old defender, one of his country’s finest players, has been capped 32 times for the ‘All Whites’, with nearly half as captain.

Born in Auckland but raised in Denmark, Reid represented Denmark at junior levels before switching allegiance to New Zealand ahead of the 2010 World Cup where he scored a memorable goal against



Slovakia.

“The World Cup was special for me because I was very young and playing and scoring in it was amazing,” he said in a statement.

“It’s something I’ll always be thankful for and grateful for. But I’ve been fortunate enough to have a long career, for both club and country, and captaining the national team has been an honour.”

Despite battling injuries throughout his career, the centre back made more than 200 appearances for West Ham before ending his 11-year association with the London club last year.