Tommy Smith says New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert has indicated that he has every chance of making his final 23-man squad for this summer’s World Cup in South Africa. Smith made his debut for the All Whites in a 2-0 friendly defeat to Mexico in the US just over a week ago.

The 19-year-old says he felt he did OK against the Mexicans: “Considering it was my debut I thought it went all right. I think there is a lot more to come and hopefully I can improve.”

The central defender, currently on loan at Brentford, says that before the match Herbert told him his chances of making the squad would be enhanced by a good display: “He said to me prior to the game that if I did all right in the game against Mexico I had a very good chance of making it to the World Cup. I picked up Man of the Match in the home press, so hopefully that will help to cement my place.”

If he makes it, Smith says he is particularly looking forward to facing Italy in the group stages: “That's the one that stands out a mile from the other two. You dream about playing against the big teams in the World Cup finals and hopefully I can achieve that.”

Photo: Action Images

Crock added 16:46 - Mar 12 Well I guess that says most about New Zealand's footballing prowess.
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tom_the_blue added 18:01 - Mar 12 Crock-how bad is your life? Even when its an article about one of our young players possibly doing what every footballer wants to and go to the world cup, you still find something negative to say! Show some positivity for once.
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PimsNumber1 added 08:20 - Mar 13 Agree Tom. A once in a lifetime opportunity for a player with limited ability. He was very very unlikely to be taking over from JT
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