Soccer: Meet your All Whites team

All Whites coach Ricki Herbert discussing tactics with players, from left, Michael McClinchey, Ryan Nelsen and Tim Brown. Photo / Mark Mitchell

They are the 11 players charged with trying to get New Zealand to their first World Cup since 1982. Michael Brown profiles the All Whites who will take on Bahrain tomorrow night.

MARK PASTON - Goalkeeper

Age: 32
Club: Wellington Phoenix
Caps: 22

The Wellington goalkeeper gets his chance courtesy of Glen Moss' four-game suspension for abusing a referee in a World Cup qualifier last year. Paston was in good form for the Phoenix before missing the last two games with a hip injury, but he is fit to play.

BEN SIGMUND - Centre back

Age: 28
Club: Wellington Phoenix
Caps: 11 (1 goal)

Siggy is one of the most popular players in the side. He is a whole-hearted defender who quit his sales job two years ago to see if he could make it as a professional footballer. So far, it seems to be going quite well.

RYAN NELSEN (c) - Sweeper

Age: 32
Club: Blackburn Rovers
Caps: 40 (9 goals)

Nelsen is New Zealand's most successful footballer since Oceania Player of the Century Wynton Rufer. He was the third New Zealander to play in England's top flight but he has played by far the most with close to 150 Premiership games for Blackburn. He is also purported to be New Zealand's highest paid sportsman with estimates putting his annual salary close to $8 million.

IVAN VICELICH - Centre back

Age: 32
Club: Auckland City
Caps: 71 (7 goals)

Vicelich is the only amateur player among the starting XI tomorrow night but he played professionally for more than a decade in New Zealand (Football Kingz) and the Netherlands (Roda JC and RKC Waalwijk). Vicelich came out of international retirement to replace the injured Nelsen for June's Confederations Cup and has continued to make himself available.

LEO BERTOS - Right midfield

Age: 27
Club: Wellington Phoenix
Caps: 29

Bertos is New Zealand's most dangerous player with the ball at his feet. He is at his best running at defenders and whipping in crosses and he was in excellent form for Wellington at the start of the season. He has looked jaded lately with the heavy workload but has had a couple of weeks on the bench for Wellington to freshen up for this game.

SIMON ELLIOTT - Centre midfield

Age: 35
Club: San Jose Earthquakes
Caps: 66 (8 goals)

Elliott is the elder statesmen of the team and comes into the game under an injury cloud (hip). He has done well in his club career playing in both the US (LA Galaxy, Columbus Crew, San Jose) and England (Fulham) and is a composed player in the middle of the park.

TIM BROWN - Centre midfield

Age: 28
Club: Wellington Phoenix
Caps: 26

Brown is the mongrel of the side. He adopts a no-holds-barred approach in the centre of midfield and players often know when they run into the 28-year-old. He will have to be careful with card-happy Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda in charge tomorrow night but Brown has more to his game than just physicality - he has scored four goals this season for Wellington including three in his last five games.

TONY LOCHHEAD - Left midfield

Age: 27
Club: Wellington Phoenix
Caps: 28

Lochhead is more commonly known as a left-back but he is renowned for his fitness and will need to get up and down the sideline if New Zealand are to be a chance against Bahrain. The curly-haired one is only now starting to approach the sort of form that won him a trial with then-Premiership side Middlesbrough last year after an indifferent 18 months.

CHRIS KILLEN - Striker

Age: 28
Club: Celtic
Caps: 35 (17 goals)

Killen is the first New Zealander to play in the Scottish Premier League, firstly with Hibernian and now glamour outfit Celtic. The Wellingtonian also had stints in England with Manchester City, Oldham, Wrexham, Port Vale and Norwich since picking up his first contract in the UK as a 17-year-old.

RORY FALLON - Striker

Age: 27
Club: Plymouth Argyle
Caps: 2 (1 goal)

A change in Fifa's eligibility rules allowed Fallon to win his callup to the All Whites earlier this year. The former England youth international previously didn't declare his allegiance to New Zealand before he turned 21 but the rules have since relaxed. The son of former All Whites coach and 1982 assistant Kevin is a tall player with a good goal-scoring record.

SHANE SMELTZ - Striker

Age: 28
Club: Gold Coast United
Cap: 30 (17 goals)

Less than three years ago, Smeltz was a little-known striker trying to find a club in England. Now he is the premier striker of both the A-League and All Whites. The German-born, Australian-raised Smeltz hasn't stopped scoring since his double in a 2-2 draw with Wales in May 2007 and was last season's A-League Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner.

Did you know?

Six of the players starting for the All Whites tomorrow night were born in either 1981 or 1982 - the time the only New Zealand side to play at a World Cup were immersed in their qualifying campaign. They are Brown, Fallon, Killen, Lochhead, Sigmund and Smeltz.

Three Bahrain players to watch

JAYCEE JOHN

The Nigerian-born striker is one of only four Bahrain players to play outside the Middle East, plying his trade for Mouscron in the Belgium league. He is a skilful player who scored a crucial goal in the 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia in Riyadh which took them through to playoff with New Zealand.

SAYED MOHAMED ADNAN

The lanky Adnan is a useful central defender but he was dangerous in the first leg from set pieces, with a couple of his blistering free-kicks going close. The 26-year-old plays his club football in Qatar.

MOHAMED AHMED SALMEEN

Bahrain's captain is also their most important player in the midfield. The 28-year-old has good vision and has won many accolades at both club and national level. He has been a fixture of the Bahrain side since 2000 and played in the World Cup playoff with Trinidad & Tobago four years ago. He won't want the same thing to happen at the same stage this time around.