Max Mata

Max Mata

Personal information
Full name	Max Andrew Mata[1]
Date of birth	(2000-07-10) 10 July 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Auckland FC (on loan from Shrewsbury Town)
Number	9
Youth career
–2018	Onehunga Sports
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2017	Wellington Phoenix Reserves	16	(8)
2017–2018	Eastern Suburbs	18	(3)
2019–2020	Grasshopper II	10	(5)
2019	→ Nõmme Kalju (loan)	14	(9)
2021–2022	Real Monarchs	19	(2)
2022–2023	Sligo Rovers	50	(18)
2023–	Shrewsbury Town	22	(1)
2024	→ Sligo Rovers (loan)	14	(4)
2024–	→ Auckland FC (loan)	9	(1)
International career^‡
2017	New Zealand U-17	7	(5)
2018–2019	New Zealand U-20	6	(5)
2019–	New Zealand	14	(2)
Medal record Men's football Representing  New Zealand OFC Nations Cup Winner 2024 Fiji/Vanuatu OFC U-19 Championship Winner 2018 Cook Islands/Tahiti OFC U-17 Championship Winner 2017 Samoa/Tahiti
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 June 2024

Max Andrew Mata (born 10 July 2000) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for A-League club Auckland FC, on loan from EFL League One club Shrewsbury Town, and the New Zealand national team.

Club career

New Zealand

After shining in New Zealand as the youngest goalscorer in the country's top-flight at 15, Mata travelled to Switzerland to train with Grasshoppers. After an impressive trial period, he signed for the club.

Grasshoppers

After scoring four goals in his first seven games for the reserves, he was loaned to Estonian side, Nõmme Kalju, in 2019 to further his development in a first-team environment. Mata never established himself with Zurich's first-team.

Loan to Nõmme Kalju

After joining on loan, Mata made his professional debut for Nõmme Kalju in their 5–0 loss to Celtic in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round on 24 July 2019.[2] Mata would make 20 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 12 times.

Real Monarchs

Mata left Switzerland on a free transfer in December 2020 and signed for American second-tier side, Real Monarchs.[3]

Sligo Rovers

On 15 February 2022, it was announced that Mata had signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club Sligo Rovers.[4] He was named Sligo Rovers' Young Player of the Year in the same year.[5] He finished the 2022 season with seven goals and four assists in sixteen appearances in the league,[6][7] as well as scoring twice in the Europa Conference League.[7] In July 2022, he signed a contract extension until at least the end of the 2024 season.[8] In February 2023, he scored a hat-trick in a 3–2 win away to UCD at the UCD Bowl.[9]

Shrewsbury Town

On 3 August 2023, Mata signed for League One club Shrewsbury Town on a three-year deal.[10]

Loan to Sligo Rovers

On 15 February 2024, it was announced that Mata had returned to Sligo Rovers, on loan until the summer.[11] He scored 4 goals in 14 appearances during his time back on loan with the club.[12]

Loan to Auckland

On 3 June 2024, it was announced that Mata had joined newly formed A-League side Auckland on loan.[13]

International career

Youth

Mata was named in the New Zealand U-20 side for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He was picked for the tournament even though he would be unavailable for the first two games of the tournament due to a red card that he picked up in the final of the OFC U-19 Championship qualifiers.[14][15] Mata ended up making two appearances for the U-20s, first in the last group game against Uruguay, where he captained the team, and in the round of 16 penalty shootout loss to Colombia.[16][17]

Senior

Mata made his international debut on 15 November 2019, coming on as a substitute for New Zealand in their 0–1 loss to Lithuania.[18] After a long spell out of the national team, he earned a call up in March 2023 for two friendly fixtures against China,[19] followed by another callup in June for friendlies against Sweden and Qatar.[20]

Personal life

Mata is of Māori and Cook Island Māori descent.[21] His older brother, Benjamin, is a footballer playing for Wellington Olympic and the Cook Islands national team.[22][23]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 10 May 2024[24]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Wellington Phoenix Reserves	2015–16	Premiership	6	3	0	0	—		—		6	3
	2016–17		10	5	0	0	—		—		10	5
Eastern Suburbs	2016–17	Premiership	2	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
	2017–18		16	3	0	0	—		—		16	3
	Total		34	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	11
Grasshopper Club	2018–19	Swiss Super League	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2019–20		0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
Nõmme Kalju (loan)	2019	Meistriliiga	14	9	1	0	—		4[a]	0	19	9
Real Monarchs	2021	USL Championship	19	2	0	0	0	0	—		19	2
Sligo Rovers	2022	LOI Premier Division	27	7	0	0	—		3[b]	2	30	9
	2023		23	11	1	1	—		—		24	12
	Total		50	18	1	1	—		3	2	54	21
Shrewsbury Town	2023–24	EFL League One	22	1	2	0	0	0	2[c]	0	26	1
	2024–25		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		22	1	2	0	0	0	2	0	26	1
Sligo Rovers (loan)	2024	LOI Premier Division	14	4	—		—		—		14	4
Auckland FC (loan)	2024–25	A-League Men	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	Total		14	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	4
Career total			153	45	4	0	0	0	9	2	166	47

1. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League and two appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
3. Appearances in EFL Trophy

International

As of match played 30 June 2024[25]

International statistics

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
New Zealand	2019	1	0
	2020	0	0
	2021	0	0
	2022	0	0
	2023	8	0
	2024	5	2
Total		14	2

International goals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	21 June 2024	VFF Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu	Vanuatu	1–0	4–0	2024 OFC Nations Cup
2	30 June 2024	VFF Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu	Vanuatu	3–0	3–0

Honours

New Zealand U17

• OFC U-17 Championship: 2017

New Zealand U19

• OFC U-19 Championship: 2018

New Zealand

• OFC Nations Cup: 2024

Individual

• OFC U-19 Men's Championship Golden Boot: 2018

References

1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: New Zealand" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
2. "Celtic 5–0 Nomme Kalju: Griffiths scores first goal since November in rout". BBC Sport. 24 July 2019.
3. "Real Monarchs Add New Zealand Forward Max Mata". www.rsl.com. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
4. "Max Mata signs for Sligo Rovers – Sligo Rovers". 15 February 2022.
5. "Max Mata named Wehrly Bros/Sligo Rovers Young POTY – Sligo Rovers". 28 October 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
6. "Summary - Premier Division - Republic of Ireland - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
7. "New Zealand - M. Mata - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
8. "Max Mata extends his Rovers' contract – Sligo Rovers". 26 July 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
9. Buttner, Paul (24 February 2023). "Mata hits hat-trick as Sligo snatch points at UCD" – via www.rte.ie.
10. "Salop sign international striker Max Mata!". www.shrewsburytown.com. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
11. "Mata makes Sligo Rovers return months after departure". RTÉ.ie. 15 February 2024.
12. "New Zealand - M. Mata - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
13. "AFC blend youth with experience as two more signings announced". 3 June 2024.
14. Voerman, Andrew (14 May 2019). "Ban no barrier to Kiwi striker Max Mata making Fifa Under-20 World Cup squad". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
15. "Talented New Zealand team heading into Fifa Under-20 World Cup full of confidence". Stuff.co.nz. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
16. "Uruguay end group stage with perfect record". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
17. "Cafeteros outlast Kiwis in dramatic shoot-out". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
18. Voerman, Andrew. "Second-string All Whites fail to seize opportunities in loss to Lithuania". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
19. "All Whites squad named for home series vs China". www.nzfootball.co.nz.
20. "All Whites squad announced for games this month against Sweden and Qatar". www.nzfootball.co.nz. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
21. "Young Kiwi signs professional football contract in Europe – 'proud of my family name and where I have come from'" – via TVNZ.
22. friendsoffootballnz_irqgpj (6 March 2022). "The World Cup squad stacked with Lotto NRFL names — and a comedian". Friends of Football. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
23. "Ben Mata - Men's Soccer". Missouri State. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
24. "New Zealand - M. Mata - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
25. "Max Mata". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 4 June 2024.

External links

• Max Mata at Soccerway
• Max Mata – FIFA competition record (archived)