Soccer: Herbert likely to stick with Bahrain-beaters

Ricki Herbert is continuing to back the All Whites who did the job against Bahrain for the World Cup finals in South Africa.

The national coach is set to name 18 players next week for the warm-up match against Mexico in Los Angeles on March 3.

One of the players from the squad which beat Bahrain will be axed to make way for Brentford defender Tommy Smith, the English age-group international who is in the process of aligning himself with New Zealand via the Fifa regulations.

Herbert has played down the chance of any surprises when he names his World Cup 23 in April.

"Nothing has changed there. I don't think any of them [the Bahrain 18] will miss out - the only reason would be a real downturn in form and there is no case of that at the moment," he said. "There are situations out of your control where players aren't playing much for their clubs but that is not a recipe to leave anyone out at this stage. If someone was left out of their club side for a long time you could look at it, though."

Herbert said he was unlikely to take four goalkeepers to South Africa as a precaution to cover for Glen Moss, who is halfway through a four-match international suspension and will only return in time for the final Cup pool game against Paraguay.

With Moss and Smith added to the Bahrain squad, three places will be open.

The lucky trio will almost certainly come from a squad made up entirely of players out of the A-league and New Zealand Football Championship who will take part in a two-week training camp in the United States or Middle East. That team is set to play one international and one club fixture in late March and early April.

Herbert admitted North Queensland midfielder Jeremy Brockie, a non-travelling reserve during the Bahrain campaign, faced an uphill World Cup battle because of a broken leg, although Brockie is optimistic.

Defender Winston Reid has given New Zealand no hint that he would cut his ties to Denmark to make himself available.

Meanwhile, the Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate near Johannesburg has been confirmed as the World Cup accommodation base. The All Whites' training grounds are still under consideration.

The major pre-World Cup camp will be staged at two Austrian venues for the matches against Serbia and Slovenia.

The All Whites plumped for southern Austria to prepare for their high-altitude World Cup venues around Johannesburg.