Soccer: Five things the All Whites need to do

Leo Bertos in training. Photo / Getty Images

Michael Brown lists five things the All Whites will need to be mindful of, if they hope to keep their World Cup soccer dream alive:

1. Get Leo Bertos involved

In the first leg, the All Whites adopted a largely defensive approach in the hope of getting something out of a match played in oppressive heat and a long way from home. This often meant Bertos played as a wing-back deep in his own half. Tomorrow night he needs to get the ball in enemy territory to do what he does best, run at players. New Zealand need to win - a scoring draw will see Bahrain qualify on the away goals rule – so, while they need to defend well in the first instance and not concede, they also need to get forward in numbers.

2. Take their chances

It sounds logical, but the All Whites don't typically create as many chances as their opposition, meaning they need to convert when they come along. New Zealand will start with three strikers in Shane Smeltz, Chris Killen and Rory Fallon with immensely-promising 17-year-old Chris Wood coming off the bench. Bahrain are a better side and New Zealand were lucky to walk away from Manama with a 0-0 draw but Bahrain do make mistakes and give teams chances. New Zealand have to take one. It would also be a massive bonus if it is the first one of the match.

3. Get the crowd involved

The All Whites rarely play at home and certainly not against quality opposition with such high stakes. Consequently, a sell-out crowd of close to 36,000 will file into Westpac Stadium tomorrow night, a record for a football game in this country. New Zealanders are typically reserved beasts when it comes to sporting events, sometimes pulling out a dreary 'All Blacks, All Blacks'. But the crowd needs to warm up the vocal chords tomorrow night to make Bahrain feel like they really are playing on the other side of the world. The White Noise (aka Yellow Fever for Wellington Phoenix games) have promised to lead the chants. He's big, he's bad, he's better than his dad, Rory Fallon, Rory Fallon…

4. Get physical

Much has been made of New Zealand's physical approach – an editorial in the Gulf Weekly called the All Whites a "bunch of bruisers" – and they need to play on that. Middle Eastern players are technically better than New Zealand's but don't tend to like the rough stuff. It can't obviously be illegal – Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda is famous for getting his cards out – but it doesn't mean they can't be intimidating. If you can get under their skin, Bahrain will get frustrated. The 1982 All Whites stood over their Chinese opponents in the tunnel before their famous 2-1 win in Singapore to scare the living daylights out of them. It worked then…

5. Hope no one gets injured

Ricki Herbert has opted for the same 3-4-3 formation he played in the first leg in Manama when many hoped he might adopt a more conventional 4-4-2. Herbert wants his best 11 to be on the park and has worked out a system to accommodate them. Sadly, he doesn't have much to go to on the bench who can really provide a spark, especially given Michael McGlinchey is likely to start with Simon Elliott a huge doubt. Wood is one and he is certain to see some gametime tomorrow night but the others are squad players who, while they can do a job, aren't likely to change the face of the game.