U's Captain, Tommy Smith, has been called up to the New Zealand squad for the All Whites' tournament to earn a spot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
It's Tommy's fourth call up to the New Zealand National side this season, with the U's skipper having already amassed forty-two caps across his career.
And the Colchester United defender will be hoping to help his country make their third World Cup appearance after making the cut in 1982, and 2010 where Tommy played in each of the three group games in South Africa.
"It's always an honour and a privilege to be called up to the National Team." said the U's Captain.
"I'll be doing all I can to ensure it's a successful initial qualification process for us as a group, and another step towards our ultimate goal of qualifying for the Qatar World Cup."
The eight-team tournament takes place between 17th March and 31st March, with New Zealand taking on Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and New Caledonia, with the top two from the group progressing to the semi-finals.
And the winner of the short tournament will progress to the Intercontinental Play-Off for a spot at this year's World Cup.
In addition to the Skipper getting his national call up, both Tyreik Wright and Armando Dobra have been called up to their respective nations of Ireland and Albania.
Wright's call up to the Irish U21 side will see him travel to Sweden for their game over this round of fixtures, while Dobra will come up against Czech Republic and England in his two games for the Albanian U21 side.
Everyone at Colchester United would like to wish all three players the best of luck for their time away with their national sides.