Soccer: Rojas' return to boost U20s in Uruguay game

The Junior All Whites' task against Uruguay at the Under-20 World Cup in Cali, Colombia, this morning could be aided by a cameo from influential playmaker Marco Rojas who is making a steady recovery from a hamstring injury.

The diminutive Rojas, capped twice at senior level, was missing as New Zealand claimed their first ever point at a Fifa Under-20 World Cup in a 1-1 draw with African powerhouse Cameroon, thanks to a resolute defensive effort in Cali.

But coach Chris Milicich yesterday said Rojas was making a faster recovery than expected and, pending a fitness test on match day, could play some part as the Junior All Whites chase a win that would almost certainly seal a place in the second round.

"Whether he starts or comes off the bench is still to be decided by the coaching and medical staff. But he got through a training session and is available to play," Milicich said.

"He does provide something a little different and has the ability to unlock defences so he's very important to us."

Uruguay drew 0-0 with Portugal in their opening match, leaving Group B wide open. With the best four third-placegetters joining the top two from each of the tournament's six groups in the round of 16, four points is seen as the mark needed to secure a place in the second round.

"I think it was very important to not lose game one. To get a point allows you to really focus on getting another three in one of the two remaining games. We've seen in other groups that if you lose your first game you're really behind the pack.

"It was important to get the point but also very important to give the players the confidence that they can compete at this level. A point was a big step but now we need to get the rest."

"The key thing for us is to make sure when we regain possession to use it well. In game one we tended to kick the ball away and it became an inability to play at that pace. But hopefully after game one we have got up to the speed of what we need to do and we can fix that," Milicich said.

THE MATCH

New Zealand v Uruguay

* Estadio Olimpico Pascual Guerrero, Cali, Colombia
* Group B
* 10am today, SS2

New Zealand from: Stefan Marinovic, Andrew Bevin, Nick Branch (c), Ryan Cain, Sean Lovemore, Nikko Boxall, Cameron Lindsay, Ethan Galbraith, Tim Payne, Anthony Hobbs, Dakota Lucas, Andrew Milne, Colin Murphy, James Musa, Marco Rojas, Luke Rowe, Mikey Kramer, Adam Thomas, Liam Higgins, Scott Basalaj, Coey Turipa.
Coach Chris Milicich

Uruguay from: Salvador Ichazo, Federico Platero, Diego Polenta (c), Guillermo De Los Santos, Angel Cayetano, Leandro Cabrera, Adrian Luna, Matias Vecino, Federico Rodriguez, Pablo Cepellini, Cesar Texeira, Leandro Gelpi, Maximiliano Olivera, Ramon Arias, Santiago Martinez, Nicolas Prieto, Yefferson Moreira, Camilo Mayada, Diego Rolan, Ignacio Lores, Alexander Da Silva.
Coach Juan Verzeri