Blues defender Tommy Smith said it was an “unbelievable honour” to captain New Zealand for the first time as he led his side to a 2-2 friendly draw with El Salvador in Houston overnight. The 22-year-old took the armband in the absence of regular skipper Ryan Nelsen and could soon be named the Tottenham man’s vice-captain and likely successor.
After the game Smith, the youngest skipper in New Zealand history, tweeted: "Such a proud moment for me tonight. To play for the national team is one thing, but to captain the side is an unbelievable honour. Thanks to [coach] Ricki [Herbert] for giving me such a fantastic honour!”
Smith, who was born in Macclesfield but lived in New Zealand between the ages of eight and 16, was winning his 10th full cap.
The All Whites goals came from debutant Auckland City defender Ian Hogg and striker Kosta Barbarouses, a team-mate of former Blue Tamás Priskin at Russian side Alania Vladikavkaz.
Coach Herbert will appoint a new permanent vice-captain to Nelsen once his squad has arrived in the Solomon Islands for their Oceania Nations Cup matches next week.
The veteran Tottenham centre-half is currently injured and is unavailable for the friendlies and the games in the Solomon Islands, which double as World Cup qualifying matches, meaning his newly-appointed deputy will wear the armband during the tournament.
Smith and West Ham’s Winston Reid, who joins up with the squad after the matches in the US, are candidates for the vice-captaincy.
New Zealand take on Honduras in another friendly in Dallas on Saturday with Smith again set to skipper.
The All Whites then travel to the Solomon Islands for the Oceania Nations Cup where they take on Fiji (June 2nd), Papua New Guinea (June 4th) and the hosts (June 6th) with all the matches played in the capital Honiara.
Smith is also expected to be in the New Zealand U23 squad — the Oly Whites - who play Belarus, Brazil and Egypt at the Olympics later in the summer, matches which mean he will miss much of the Blues’ pre-season programme.
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