Soccer: Italy matchup promises thriller for All Whites

All Whites soccer coach Ricki Herbert believes tomorrow morning's friendly against World Cup champions Italy in Pretoria is as exciting for fans as it is testing for the players.

New Zealand take on the Azzurri in their final warm-up for the Fifa Confederations Cup. Herbert is excited about the proposition, and not just because he sees it as an ideal introduction to the levels of skill and intensity New Zealand will face four days later in their tournament opener against world No 1 Spain.

"It's a fantastic opportunity. It may be a mammoth gap between where they are and we're at, but it gives a chance on that world stage to put a good foot forward."

Italy arrived in South Africa on the back of a 3-0 friendly win over Northern Ireland in Pisa and, as the match against New Zealand is the Azzurri's only warm-up before their Group B opener against the United States, Marcello Lippi may elect to give many of his front-liners another hit-out.

Like Spain on June 15, Italy will field a line-up stacked with influential players from Europe's top clubs - but Herbert says that is exactly why fans will get excited.

"Whilst it'll be great for the players on the pitch to play the best players and the best teams in the world, football fans can switch that on and watch their own team play the likes of [Italy captain] Fabio Cannavaro or [Spain's Liverpool striker] Fernando Torres or whoever.

"People watch those players week in and week out because they're the best players in the world. There'll be some amazing match-ups and some really intriguing competitions on the park.

"Kids will love it. They'll watch and see that opportunities are there in the game and if you can qualify these are the sorts of teams you're going to come up against."

Most of the New Zealand team have seen game time in friendlies against Tanzania and Botswana, but the battle for starting spots has taken on added intensity this week with the XI named by Herbert against Italy likely to line up against Spain.

"It's a tough call. There's some good depth through the squad. There'll be some disappointments but that's the reality of this level."

With just two training sessions left, the biggest selection decision left for the All Whites coaching staff is what role, if any, Ben Sigmund would play.

Herbert had targeted this match for Sigmund's first taste of game time on tour after recovering from off-season surgery and while the defender's recovery was on track, decisions on whether he would play, and if that would be as a starter or from the bench, would be left until the night before the match.

"He's coping with the workload we've given him and from a pain perspective he's kind of got through that barrier now, so the signs are positive."

* ALL WHITES v ITALY
Pretoria, 6.45am tomorrow

NEW ZEALAND (FROM) Mark Paston, Aaron Scott, Tony Lochhead, Duncan Oughton, Ben Sigmund, Ivan Vicelich, Simon Elliott, Tim Brown (captain), Shane Smeltz, Chris Killen, Leo Bertos, Glen Moss, Andy Barron, Jeremy Christie, Jeremy Brockie, Chris James, David Mulligan, Andrew Boyens, Steven Old, Chris Wood, Kris Bright, Jarrod Smith, James Bannatyne.

ITALY (FROM) Gianluigi Buffon, Davide Santon, Fabio Grosso, Giorgio Chiellini, Fabio Cannavaro, Nicola Legrottaglie, Simone Pepe, Gennaro Gattuso, Luca Toni, Daniele de Rossi, Alberto Gilardino, Morgan de Sanctis, Alessandro Gamberini, Marco Amelia, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Mauro Camoranesi, Giuseppe Rossi, Angelo Palombo, Gianluca Zambrotta, Riccardo Montolivo, Andrea Pirlo, Andrea Dossena, Fabio Quagliarella.

- NZPA