Emblen announced his 18-man Olympic squad today, with captain Ryan Nelsen, Shane Smeltz and Michael McGlinchey included as the three overage players allowed for the otherwise under-23 tournament.
Emblen had initially planed to call up Winston Reid but the defender this week declared his unavailability as he attempts to nail down a first team spot with West Ham who won promotion back to the Premier League - clubs aren't obliged to release players because it's an underage tournament. Midfielder McGlinchey will take his place, meaning experience in each third of the park.
Nelsen missed the recent failed Oceania Nations Cup campaign in the Solomon Islands with an ankle injury but has pledged he will be fit for his second Olympic campaign and will bring class and leadership to an exciting group.
Four played at the 2010 World Cup, 13 have played for the All Whites and 10 appeared in Honiara. Reserve goalkeeper Michael O'Keefe was also called in as an injury replacement for Mark Paston at the Nations Cup but didn't get on the park.
Up front, Emblen can run a largely first-choice All Whites strike-force with Smeltz, Chris Wood, Kosta Barbarouses and Marco Rojas and Nelsen, Tommy Smith and McGlinchey are also automatic choices in Ricki Herbert's starting XI.
Adam Thomas (Waikato FC), Alex Feneridis (Auckland City), James Musa (Team Wellington) and Dakota Lucas (Team Wellington) are the only players other than O'Keefe who haven't appeared for the All Whites but Thomas, Musa and Lucas went to last year's Under-20 World Cup in Colombia and Feneridis has been to two Club World Cups.
"It's brilliant to have so many All Whites," Emblen said. "I hope we can boast the most internationally capped players of any side at the Olympics but we are a unique country because there's not the pool of players everybody else has to choose from.
"Our players get opportunities quicker than if they were playing for another nation. Look at Tim Payne. He's played for New Zealand under-17s, 20s, 23s and All Whites in a year. That woudn't happen in many other nations no matter how good the player is. We have to use that to our advantage."
Reid's withdrawal will also likely see a change of formation. Emblen could have utilised the 3-4-3 formation used by Herbert over the past couple of years but will probably switch to a 4-3-3.
He has the chance to bed that in with games against fellow Olympic sides Japan (July 11), South Korea (July 14) and United Arab Emirates (July 19) en route to London.
Wellington-based players Cameron Lindsay, Michael Eagar, Luke Rowe and goalkeeper Scott Basalaj have all been put on standby in case of injuries and Ivan Vicelich, Glen Moss and Jeremy Brockie are in the frame should one of the overage players drop out.
The Oly Whites have hopes of advancing from their group and are targeting their first two games against Belarus on July 28 and Egypt on July 30. They round out their campaign against Brazil at Newcastle's St James' Park on August 2.
They need to finish in the top two in their group to make the quarter-finals and probably need at least a win and a draw to advance.
New Zealand Olympic football squad (* denotes overage players): Goalkeepers: Jake Gleeson (Portland Timbers, USA), Michael O'Keefe (Fairfield University, USA); Defenders: Ian Hogg (Auckland City), Tim Myers (Waitakere United), Tommy Smith (Ipswich Town, ENG), Ryan Nelsen* (c - QPR, ENG), Adam Thomas (Waikato FC), James Musa (Team Wellington); Midfielders: Tim Payne (Blackburn Rovers, ENG), Michael McGlinchey* (Central Coast Mariners, AUS), Alex Feneridis (Auckland City), Cameron Howieson (Burnley, ENG), Adam McGeorge (Auckland City); Forwards: Kosta Barbarouses (Alania Vladikavkaz, RUS), Shane Smeltz* (Perth Glory, AUS), Chris Wood (West Bromwich Albion, ENG), Marco Rojas (Melbourne Victory, AUS), Dakota Lucas (Team Wellington).
