Soccer World Cup 'very achievable', says Adshead

The All Whites' hopes of making next year's World Cup finals are "very achievable", but soccer is a funny game, former coach John Adshead said today.

Adshead, with Kevin Fallon as his assistant, was at the helm when New Zealand made it to the sport's premier tournament for the first and only time, in Spain in 1982.

However, the present crop of All Whites, under two players who took part in the '82 campaign, Ricki Herbert and Brian Turner, are tantalisingly close to emulating that feat.

Standing in the way of a trip to South Africa next June and July is a home-and-away tie against Bahrain, beginning in Manama on Sunday morning (NZT) and with the return match in Wellington on November 14.

"Over two legs, I would put my hand on my heart and say honestly that New Zealand can achieve this," Adshead said.

"It's not just achievable, it's very achievable, but football is a funny game. When you think you're right, it will turn around and whack you.

"But if we do the right things, I honestly believe this could be our second trip to a World Cup."

Adshead said having the second leg at home gave the All Whites a definite advantage.

"You're thinking Bahrain will want to come over here with an unassailable lead and that often leads to little chances."

If opportunities did arise, he was confident the All Whites had the firepower up front in British-based trio Chris Killen, Rory Fallon and Chris Wood, and Gold Coast striker Shane Smeltz, to take advantage.

Adshead is familiar with Bahrain from his years coaching the Oman under-17 and under-20 sides before he returned in early 2005 to manage the now-defunct New Zealand Knights.

He also knows the Bahrain coach, 66-year-old Czech Milan Macala, who was the Oman national coach when he was there.

"He's a very experienced coach, very organised, and he knows Middle East football very, very well," he said.

"He's got a lot more benefits on his side than Ricki Herbert does. They're supported by the royal family and money normally means time."

Among the players to watch in the Bahrain side was striker A'ala Hubail, who "scores a lot of goals", while the All Whites could expect to face an "absolutely fanatical" and noisy full house.

Adshead said a curiosity about the Middle East was that the size of the crowd depended on the likelihood of victory rather than the identity of the opposition.

"If Brazil were playing the national team of Oman, you might get 3000 to watch it," he said.

"If my under-20s or under-17 were playing, you would probably getting 20,000 and that's about expectation of victory.

"They do have mana. They don't like to go if they think their team is going to lose.

"But there will be expectation from everybody in Bahrain that their team will beat New Zealand in Bahrain."

Adshead was sure that coaches Herbert and Turner, having been in that sort of environment as players, would have their side properly prepared.

"We have to stay very composed, very organised, very tight," he said.

"It sounds simple when we say they have to concentrate for 90 minutes, but that's what they have to do."

Adshead said he retained strong feelings for all the players from the 1982 campaign.

He could see the nice irony in the fact that two of them were now in charge as New Zealand stood on the threshold of a potential second trip to a World Cup.

"It would be an absolutely unbelievable feeling for all the '82 All Whites if these two lads can pull it off," he said.

"We would all be delighted and it would be fantastic for the country."

- NZPA