FIFA World Cup 2010 Team Preview: New Zealand

Country: New Zealand

FIFA RANKING : 78

NICKNAME : ALL WHITES

CAPTAIN : RYAN NELSON

CONFEDERATION : OCEANIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION

HEAD COACH : RICKI HERBERT

New Zealand have been very lucky to have qualified for this years world cup . With the exit of Australia from the oceania confederation, new Zealand are the only remaining powerhouse in the zone . Hence they easily topped the oceania nations cup although having lost one match to their traditional rivals Fiji . After advancing from the zone they were schedules to play the 5th placed afc team . Bahrain after having a dismal start to their qualifying campaign , managed to remain 5th and scrapped through to the playoffs . By holding the hosts to a goalless draw , the all whites qualified to the quadrannular event by defeating Bahrain 1-0 at home triggering widespread celebration . Rory fallon ‘s goal was perhaps the most important goal in the history of the all-white’s , which took them to the showpiece event in south Africa .

HISTORY : New Zealand have only qualified for the world cup ,once previously in 1982 . Pitted in a very tough group with the likes of Brazil and USSR they were thrashed by all the teams and ended up with no wins and no points .

Ricki Herbert

SQUAD :

GOALKEEPERS :

James Bannatyne

Glen Moss

Mark Paston

Mark Paston is their regular choice goalkeeper. This highly-competent keeper who played a key role in the Bahrain double-header, notably saving a penalty in the second-leg that secured his nation an appearance in this World Cup party. Glen moss is another highly experienced keeper providing able deputy to James.

DEFENDERS :

Andrew Boyens

Tony Lochhead

Dave Mulligan

Ryan Nelsen

Winston Reid

Ben Sigmund

Tommy Smith

Ivan Vicelich

Most of the defenders have either plied their trade in USA or England . The defense line up is made up of experienced veterans. The most high profile and highly credentialed player in New Zealand’s World Cup squad, Nelsen’s experience will be vital as he leads his team-mates to the top echelons of world football. Among the current squad, Blackburn Rovers defender Nelsen is the only man who can claim to have scaled those heights, given he captains a Premier League club. Andrew Boyens and Lochhead are experienced full backs. Overall the defence probably looks the strongest among the three lines of players .

MIDFIELDERS:

Andy Barron

Leo Bertos

Jeremy Brockie

Tim Brown

Jeremy Christie

Aaron Clapham

Simon Elliott

Michael McGlinchey

Cole Peverley

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Bertos is a creative midfielder or winger with dazzling dribbling skills, sprinters pace and flair for a killer through ball. In one-on-one situations, he can wreak havoc and he is also the side’s primary set-piece taker. He has extensive experience in pro-soccer in England. Tim Brown is the vice captain of the squad and a popular figure having come through the junior ranks. A tireless and effective worker, he would have his task cut out. Overall the midfield doesn’t look promising enough to contain the marauding and the rampaging midfield of the top countries. A weak link perhaps .

FORWARDS:

The "all whites"

Rory Fallon

Chris Killen

Shane Smeltz

Chris Wood

To win matches you need goals . And every top team has a good striking force. Rory Fallon, the man who scored the all important winner in the playoffs against Bahrain has played for England in the junior divisions. He plays his professional soccer in England and is a major threat to the defences of other teams. Chris Killen is also a veteran of English and Scottish football, having come through the ranks at the Manchester City Academy. The All-Whites best natural finisher by some margin, Shane Smeltz was their top marksman in qualification with eight goals. He had earlier been voted as the Oceania player of the year in 2007 . The strike force looks strong enough to cause an upset . HOW THEY WILL FARE AT THE WORLD CUP: New Zealand have been drawn in a relatively tough pool with Italy and Paraguay being the favourites to advance from the group stage. Slovakia is another country which had endured a giant killing run during the qualifying campaign and would be suicidal to be overlooked. However, New Zealand have been performing well enough in the pre world cup friendlies and hence we can expect New Zealand to collect their first ever point at the world cup .

PREDICTION: NOT BEYOND THE GROUP STAGES .