Gianni Stensness

Gianni Stensness (born 7 February 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for A-League club Central Coast Mariners. Born and raised in Australia, but with a New Zealand father, Stensness has been called up for both Australian and New Zealand representative teams in his youth.

Wellington Phoenix

On 9 March 2019, Stensness played his first professional game for Wellington Phoenix. He came on as a substitute for Mandi in an 8–2 win over his former side, Central Coast Mariners. In June 2019, he left Wellington Phoenix to explore opportunities in Europe.

Central Coast Mariners

Stensness returned empty-handed from Europe to the A-League and checked with Wellington Phoenix if they were willing to offer him another contract. However, Wellington Phoenix had moved on with their recruitment, so he signed a one-year contract with Central Coast Mariners in August 2019.

Eligible for both Australia and New Zealand, 17-year old Stensness was named by Ufuk Talay in an Australian under-20 national team training camp on 31 January 2017.

On 11 February 2019, Stensness was invited by New Zealand under-20 national team coach Des Buckingham to a talent identification camp in Auckland. On 23 March 2019 he declared his desire to represent New Zealand.

On 28 May 2019, Stensness scored his first goal for New Zealand at the U-20 World Cup against Norway, helping his team advance to the round of 16.