Town defender Tommy Smith has been named in New Zealand’s final 23-man squad for the World Cup in South Africa. The 20-year-old recently won his first cap for the All Whites, having switched allegiance to the country where he lived between the ages of eight and 16 after representing England, the nation of his birth, at U17 level.

Coach Ricki Herbert, who worked on his coaching badges alongside Blues boss Roy Keane, is pleased with his squad: "Defensively and attack-wise, I don't think the nation has been in a better state. We've got some absolute quality coming through there.

"I don't think we are too far away from probably having the best side we've ever had in New Zealand."

The squad will assemble in Auckland on May 19th and then travels to Melbourne on May 22nd for a friendly with Australia at the MCG two days later. They are then off to Austria for a training camp and further friendlies against Serbia and Slovenia, before arriving in South Africa on June 6th.

After a warm-up game with Chile, Smith and his team-mates then take on Slovakia, Paraguay and Italy in their group matches.

Smith will be the first Town player to appear in the World Cup since Matt Holland played for the Republic of Ireland and Amir Karic featured for Slovenia at the 2002 tournament.

New Zealand: Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn), James Bannatyne (Team Wellington), Andy Barron (Team Wellington), Leo Bertos (Wellington Phoenix), Andy Boyens (New York Red Bulls), Jeremy Brockie (Newcastle Jets), Tim Brown (Wellington Phoenix), Jeremy Christie (FC Tampa Bay Rowdies), Aaron Clapham (Canterbury United), Simon Elliott, Rory Fallon (Plymouth Argyle), Chris Killen (Middlesbrough), Tony Lochhead (Wellington Phoenix), Michael McGlinchey (Motherwell), Glen Moss (Melbourne Victory), David Mulligan, Mark Paston (Wellington Phoenix), Winston Reid (FC Midtjylland, Denmark), Ben Sigmund (Wellington Phoenix), Shane Smeltz (Gold Coast United), Tommy Smith (Ipswich Town), Ivan Vicelich (Auckland City), Chris Wood (West Bromwich Albion).

Photo: Action Images

blueblood66 added 09:31 - May 10 good luck Tommy..the expierience will be invaluable to you.
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brockleyblueboy added 09:35 - May 10 Good luck and like blueblood66 says the experience will hold you in great stance for next season. Will be cheering you on. Does anyone know the odds for the lad to score?
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Hunterssecondball added 09:47 - May 10 Amir Karic eh! Did we follow his fortunes like we will Tommy Smith?! It's good to have an underdog team to support. Alway's add's that little bit extra to the tournament ( Leyton Orient for me in the League!!) Let's hope he stay's injury free and comes back a really confident player having benefitted from the experience and gives RK another kingpin for our central defence. Will it be Connor Wickham's World Cup in 2014?

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BLUEBEAT added 09:47 - May 10 but Tommy has still failed to join the 'boys club'. no Panini sticker for you this year Tommy Boy!!!!!
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wisebluey added 09:48 - May 10 I SUPPORT NEW ZEALAND !!!!!! COME ON THE ALL WHITES !!!!!!
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Superfrans added 10:13 - May 10 I have to say this is brilliant news. It adds a bit of Town interest in South Africa and will be fantastic experience for Tommy, who I still think has a big future with us. Congratulations Tommy!!
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RevAdrian added 11:18 - May 10 Congrats indeed - and some added interested (remember Bontcho Guenchev!) 15th June New Zealand v Slovakia
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Redmond added 11:21 - May 10 Good Luck Tommy, Hopefully He Helps Them Not To Lose By Too Much
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blueherts added 11:56 - May 10 Arrrh Amir Karic - the best left foot in the Euros - never played for us ? - I dont think - Great job TS ....GO NZ!!!
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BlueArmy21 added 12:20 - May 10 Brill news!! Congrats Smithy! All the very best of luck!
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KeanePlusTriggs added 13:09 - May 10 watch out for shane smeltz when i was in nz he wa son fire for wellington and moved to gold coast i know the level of quality is vast but good striker !
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Lightningboy added 13:09 - May 10 Best of luck Tommy!
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hollywoodginge added 13:19 - May 10 Chuffed to bits for ya smudge, trully derserved for such a top lad, bit of a trivia question, who was the last youth product from town to appear at a world cup? Did dyer make an appearance? Just curious.
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Lightningboy added 13:33 - May 10 Probably Terry Butcher?
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WickedBlue added 13:42 - May 10 Well done Tommy I will be cheering you on from here....Best of luck....
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ITFCenFrance added 15:25 - May 10 Looking at that squad, the Wellington derby must be an absolute firecracker of a fixture. BLUEBEAT, I know what you mean about Panini stickers... I was fortunate enough to be at Marseille vs Rennes last Wednesday and they were dishing out free albums at the ground- gutted to see that Tommy Smith won't be getting the 'got, got, NEED!' treatment in playgrounds across the globe this summer!

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ITFCed added 16:27 - May 10 smith vs del piero/gilardino/Iaquinta. Should be a good battle for the lad. Best of luck
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MyBlueHeaven added 19:45 - May 10 @ITFCenFrance... sorry to be a dullard but those Wellington teams play in different competitions. The Phoenix are in the Australian A-League (yeah, i know...) and Team Wellington in the NZ domestic league. anyway... well done Tommy boy. good work.
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ITFCenFrance added 11:58 - May 11 @MyBlueHeaven... Great knowledge! I had no idea and thus I have Australasian Geography egg all over my face. I guess a Wellington derby is a rare thing indeed in that case! I wonder if it can still be called a Wellington derby because of the place names, or are derbies strictly local jobbies? I.e. Aberdeen vs Man United could be jokingly called the Sir Alex Ferguson Derby, for instance, or Town vs Newcastle the Bobby Robson derby etc etc... ... aimless waffling aside, great news for Town fans and of course for Smith himself. Looking forward to those NZ games much more now! Not that I wasn't excited before, of course...

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