Soccer: Injuries blight World Cup warm-up in Jordan

Central Coast's Michael McGlinchey will play in Jordan. Photo / Getty Images

The All Whites have already run into problems over their plan to treat this week's friendly against Jordan as a dry run for next month's all-important World Cup playoff.

They had intended to take the same number of players they will use in the playoff (18), use the same preparation time and approach they will take against either Saudi Arabia or Bahrain.

But they headed to Amman yesterday to prepare for Thursday morning's (NZT) friendly with Jordan with news they will have only 16 fit players after strikers Chris Killen (calf) and Chris Wood (ankle) withdrew.

This was offset somewhat by confirmation Blackburn Rovers skipper Ryan Nelsen will play. Nelsen, who missed June's Confederations Cup because of injury, has played only one Premier League game this season because a medial ligament strain.

Herbert has a number of things he wants to get out of the trip but one goal heads the list.

"I want to be able to get back on the plane to come home [after the Jordan game] knowing what my starting XI will be for the World Cup playoff," he said.

The biggest conundrum is knowing where new recruits Rory Fallon and Michael McGlinchey, who have both been called into the squad after a Fifa rule change around eligibility, fit into the mix.

Fallon will now start the Jordan match, after the injuries to Killen and Wood, and McGlinchey will see game time in what is shaping as something of a trial.

"We know what Chris Killen can do and we know the potential of Chris Wood, which is great, so it just means the door of opportunity swings open even wider for Rory," Herbert said.

While Thursday's match will be important in determining his first XI, an arguably more important match will be played in Riyadh at the same time. The All Whites will know soon after fulltime against Jordan whether they will play Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. The first match in the two-legged playoff is this morning (NZT) and New Zealand have sent former Australia coach Raul Blanco ahead on a scouting mission.

Saudi Arabia (65)
If history was anything to go by, the All Whites would romp past Saudi Arabia.

The 1982 side famously beat the Saudis 5-0 on carpet in Riyadh to amazingly keep their World Cup dream alive after drawing 2-2 in Auckland.

But a lot has changed since then. Saudi Arabia have qualified for the past four World Cups - they got to the second round in 1994 - and were ranked as high as 21 in the world in 2004. They are also four-time Asian Nations Cup winners, were runners-up last time and finished second in the 1992 Confederations Cup.

They have, though, struggled against the more physical European sides. In eight World Cup games against European teams, they have won just once and lost seven times, conceding a whopping 24 goals in the process.

Herbert fancies Saudi Arabia to progress, largely because of their greater experience at this level.

Bahrain (64)
Bahrain have never qualified for a World Cup. They came close last time, losing on aggregate to Trinidad and Tobago in a home and away playoff, and were solid in qualifying this time.

They have excelled for their size and population (800,000) and in 2004 were judged Fifa's most improved team, having jumped from a ranking of 139 in March 2000 to 44 just four years later.

They tend to adopt a more physical approach than Saudi Arabia but are still good technically and this was highlighted by their 1-0 win over Japan earlier in their World Cup campaign.

Bahrain are coached by a Czech, Milan Ma'cala, who has experience with Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.