Tommy Smith’s New Zealand confirmed their qualification for this summer’s Olympics in London by beating Fiji 1-0 in Taupo overnight. The Blues refused permission for Smith to play for the U23 side during the qualifiers due to the centre-half’s domestic commitments.
The 21-year-old recently said that he’s looking forward to taking part in this summer's Games: "It’s such a massive sporting event and having played in the World Cup already, to add the Olympics to my cv would be another great achievement for me.”
Smith tweeted his congratulations to his team-mates: "Well done boys! London2012 here we come!”
The New Zealand Olympic team is known as the Oly Whites and their squad is expected to be ratified as soon as this week.
Town keeper Cody Cropper, who played his first game since December as Town’s U18s beat Birmingham 3-1 on Saturday having undergone knee surgery, could also be involved in the tournament, which is played at U23 level plus three overage players.
The US, who lost 2-0 to Canada overnight, need to beat El Salvador on Monday to reach the semi-finals of the CONCACAF qualification section.
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