"Historic' draw encouraging, but Cup still long shot

OPINION: Let's delight in a draw but not labour the point: the All Whites still have a mountain to climb to get to the World Cup finals.

Coach Ricki Herbert is right to trumpet the 0-0 draw with Iraq as an "historic" first point at a Fifa senior tournament, and a confidence booster before the World Cup play-offs against Bahrain or Saudi Arabia.

But, don't get your vuvuzela out to trumpet the triumph just yet. Sunday's scoreless stalemate at Johannesburg's Ellis Park cannot quite paper over the cracks of the Kiwis' Confederations Cup campaign.

Herbert, hand over heart, would have to admit that the All Whites have never played a team as lifeless as Iraq were yesterday at any previous Confederations Cup tournament.

I am sure he would never claim the 2009 team ranks above the 1982 World Cup finals squad he played for.

Iraq may have won the last Asian Championships title. But their standards have slipped since. They were not good enough to make the Asian Football Confederation World Cup playoffs cut, meaning they aren't one of the top 10 teams in the region.

Herbert has done well but he will need outside help to get the All Whites to the 2010 World Cup finals. He must agree to New Zealand Football hiring a technical adviser with experience in the Middle East football arena.

Look at the results Australia has had with Dutch masters Guus Hiddink and Pim Verbeek at the helm.

Mind you, Australia has a fair smattering of top drawer talent. Captain Ryan Nelsen is the only All White operating at the level of Tim Cahill or Harry Kewell.

Nelsen's fitness and his centreback partnership with fit-again Ben Sigmund is pivotal to the All Whites' World Cup chances.

Elsewhere, the cupboard is quite bare especially with top goalkeeper Glen Moss suspended for the next four World Cup matches.

A senior team member allegedly said in a radio interview that the Confederations Cup side was one of the best New Zealand teams for many years.

Palpably, that is not true, despite the draw with Iraq and the remarkable 3-4 warm-up game defeat to World Cup champions Italy, who the All Whites led three times.

Only two members of the Confederations Cup party would make an All Whites' All-Star XI Herbert and co-coach Brian Turner (and even Herbert would have to play out of position at rightback to make room for Nelsen).

The All Whites, who didn't get a game in Spain in 1982, would all be starters in the Class of `09.

But there's no point lamenting the lack of a Wynton Rufer, Steve Wooddin or Steve Sumner.

Herbert has to make the best with what he's got. His biggest problem is the lack of a midfield playmaker. Simon Elliott defied Father Time, at 35, with some workaholic efforts in the defensive midfield role. But he needs a more creative partner than Tim Brown. Leo Bertos showed some skill and positivity in the final match. Maybe Herbert could trial him, at the Phoenix, in a more central, creative midfield role.

Moss was the All Whites' undoubted star in South Africa and, hopefully, may have put himself in the spotlight for a transfer to a decent European club.

But Herbert now has himself a problem because Moss is suspended for the next four World Cup matches. Moss' form meant Herbert could not afford to play Mark Paston, the man who will be between the posts for the World Cup qualifiers.

Paston could have done with some game time in South Africa to prepare himself for Bahrain or Saudi Arabia.

Strikers Shane Smeltz and Chris Killen will have the warm fuzzies after their goals against Italy. But they will rue the chances squandered against Iraq.

Herbert's first phone call after heading home should be to Plymouth Argyle striker Rory Fallon. The Gisborne-born former England junior international target man is eligible to play for New Zealand now after a Fifa rule change.

Fallon, 27, is scoring goals in the Championship, England's second-tier league. His height and physical presence would be assets against Asian opposition and he would put pressure on Killen and Smeltz.

Becoming the first Kiwi to play and coach in a World Cup finals, would be the crowning glory of Herbert's coaching career.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility if Nelsen and Sigmund keep a tight ship at the back and push forward to join Smeltz, Killen and Fallon to sneak a set-piece goal.

Nelsen's nous and leadership will galvanise this group.

- © Fairfax NZ News