He could’ve been a star in the OlyWhites’ historic Tokyo campaign.
But midfielder Sarpreet Singh opted not to go to the Olympics in the hope he could secure his club future first - with half an eye on the All Whites’ World Cup run next year.
It’s a decision that looks to be paying dividends already.
"I miss the group, I missed going to the Olympics. [But] I think for the long term of my career it was probably the right decision," he tells 1News.
After a couple of up-and-down years at Bayern Munich, including a loan spell away, Singh secured another loan transfer to second-tier club SSV Jahn Regensburg.
Eight games into the new season and his new club is topping the table, with the New Zealander at the heart of the action.
"The second year in Europe is always the tough one,” he said.
“Once you get through that you're set.
“When you first arrive, I think you run off adrenaline. You're so excited to be in Europe, you're at Bayern Munich. You're just running off adrenaline every single day, then I think in your second year it becomes an everyday thing.”
Singh is playing games, scoring goals, and is finally settled.
The timing for the All Whites is perfect.
He’s set to be named in the squad next week for October’s international friendlies against Curaçao and Bahrain.
"I'm in a really good space. I think within the team we have a very good mix of youth and experience. I think everyone's at the right times in their careers to help the team get to where we want to get to.”
It’ll be the team’s first taste of action in almost 700 days and will unofficially mark the start of the build up to World Cup qualifiers next year
"When you play club football you kind of miss the culture of the New Zealand teams,” he said.
“We've built a really nice culture there and I can't wait to play these two games. I think it'll show us where we're at and what we need to do going into the next year."
The chance of getting the All Whites back to a World Cup is one he definitely won’t want to miss.
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