Tommy Smith and New Zealand play a training game with Chile this morning, their last match before they begin their World Cup campaign against Slovakia next Tuesday.
The game in Nelspruit will be played in three 30-minute thirds with All Whites coach Ricki Herbert planning to use all his currently fit players at some point. Caps will not be awarded to those taking part.
Smith and Denmark-based Winston Reid appear to have fought their way into the team playing either side of skipper Ryan Nelsen in a three-man backline, ousting Ben Sigmund and Ivan Vicelich, who were part of the defence which won qualification for the World Cup for the first time since 1982.
Herbert admits that deciding on who to play alongside Nelsen, who misses today’s game with an ear infection, is a big decision: "It’s something I have been, and will be, sleeping on for the next few nights. But post-Chile we’ll have to do it. It will be a hard call, you could argue the case on all four of them.”
Tuesday’s opening group game against Slovakia will be played in Rustenburg with Italy the All Whites’ second opponents in Nelspruit five days later. They complete their opening phase matches against Paraguay in Polokwane on June 24th.
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