They've made it but All Whites need a vacancy

BY COEN LAMMERS IN CAPE TOWN

The All Whites are desperately looking for an appropriate place to sleep during the World Cup, but the South African inn appears to be full.

As if playing world champions Italy was not bad enough, the All Whites could now face a safari in second-rate accommodation in the backwaters of the republic.

New Zealand was drawn to play Italy, Slovakia and Paraguay in the unappealing venues of Rustenburg, Nelspruit and Polokwane, are are also struggling to locate facilities needed to give the All Whites an ideal preparation.

Assistant coach Brian Turner, New Zealand Football chairman Frank van Hattum and high performance manager Alex Chiet rushed to Johannesburg from Cape Town yesterday to find a base camp in Gauteng within close proximity of the three playing venues.

The delegation got a shock after the draw when it emerged that the 55 identified facilities were all booked out, most them for months.

"We're at a disadvantage here," said Turner, standing in for coach Ricki Herbert. "We qualified last and have to take what's left over."

He said the All Whites had tried to operate at the standards of professional international sport "and we'll have to lower that standard because there are no more five-star facilities. It's not a good look for the players when you qualify for the World Cup and you go backwards."

Van Hattum was more upbeat, focusing on the confined area in which the All Whites' games are to be played. "All the venues are on the high veldt so we'll travel to the venues on the day of the match and base ourselves around Johannesburg."

The All Whites played two matches in Rustenburg during this year's Confederations Cup and Van Hattum admitted the town was not the most attractive destination.

"Rustenberg is a bit like Taihape or Taumarunui," he joked. "Still, the sexiest part will be the games and the atmosphere around it."

The crime rate in Johannesburg and World Cup security paranoia will make it hard for players to leave their hotel to break the daily grind.

"One of the challenges Ricki and Brian will have is to keep the players stimulated mentally and physically," van Hattum said.

"There is not a lot to do, but then again, they are professional sports people here to do a job."

With the last ball barely drawn in the Cape Town Convention Centre on Saturday, the Kiwi delegation was already lining up sparring partners for their buildup campaign.

Turner said they hoped to play against a South American country in March, and one or more European opponents during the final training camp in May.

The Fifa window in early March appears to be too brief to fly Ryan Nelsen, Chris Killen, Rory Fallon and Chris Wood in from Britain. Herbert is now hoping to organise a couple of matches at the end of March without those four once the A-League is finished.

"We were handing out cards left right and centre at the draw," van Hattum said. "We reached across to the Germans and said we were available if they needed a team that played a bit like the Australians."

The day after the draw, hotel lobbies were buzzing with agents and national officials trying to set up friendlies around the globe.

"We'll go out and see who's available and what style of football they play, now we know who our opponents are," van Hattum said.

Turner said the players needed a break after a full season in the A-League. "Once they've had a break it's not a lot of time before the training camp starts in May."

The chairman said the draw was tough "but could have been a lot worse. Slovakia and Paraguay are no mugs but seem a bit inconsistent. Italy seem to deceive everyone between World Cups and then they end up winning it".

Still, the World Cup veteran of 1982 is optimistic the All Whites will give one or two sides a fright. "We've learnt from the Confederations Cup so hopefully we'll be well prepared and sneak a win and a place in the second round. How cool would that be?"

World Cup Rivals And How They Rate

ITALY

Ranking: 4
Appearances at World Cup: 17
World Cup history: Winners in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006
Star players: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Fabiano Cannevaro (Juventus), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan), Alberto Giraldino (Fiorentina)
Qualifying record: Seven wins, three draws
Coach Marcello Lippi: "We've seen New Zealand in the Confederations Cup so that will give us some insights in their play. We might have to do a bit more study on Slovakia and Paraguay. Just looking across the draw there is no easy group. Germany's and Brazil's look hard on paper."

SLOVAKIA

Ranking: 34
Appearances at the World Cup: First
World Cup history: Twice runner-up as part of Czech Republic
Star players: Martin Skrtel (Liverpool), Marek Hamsik (Napoli) and Miroslav Stoch (FC Twente Enschede)
Qualifying record: Seven wins, one draw, two losses
Coach Vladimir Weiss: "Everyone wanted to play Slovakia or New Zealand. They [NZ] are not necessarily the easiest in the group. Of course the favourites will be Italy but after that the group is open. Are New Zealand the winning ticket? Of course not. They are in the World Cup so they deserve respect."

PARAGUAY

Ranking: 30
Appearances at World Cup: Seven
World Cup history: Second round three times
Star player: Roque Santa Cruz (Manchester City)
Qualifying record: 10 wins, three draws, five losses
Coach Gerardo Martino: "We have some of the best players in the world, so if we play at our best we should prevail against New Zealand. New Zealand is not a dream draw. We are very clear every team at the World Cup deserves to be here, so they will not be underestimated."

- © Fairfax NZ News