Soccer: Odd ball boost for All Whites

All Whites captain Ryan Nelsen says the ball's flight is different at high altitude, but it takes only a couple of days to get used to it, and that's the same for every team. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Real or imaginary, the ball continues to be portrayed as the rogue element in the World Cup.

And the All Whites have had another say on the topic on the eve of their opening Group-F match against Slovakia in Rustenburg tomorrow night.

An endless diet of interviews in the build-up meant that, with only so many topics to tear into, the subject was bound to come up again. Coach Ricki Herbert and captain Ryan Nelsen didn't go out of their way to raise it.

But the ball, and especially its performance at high altitude, will be a factor in the 2010 tournament, whether the demons exist or not.

England captain Steven Gerrard was bold enough to suggest that the howler from his goalkeeper Robert Green against the United States might have been down to the controversial adidas ball.

Gerrard was doing his duty, trying not to criticise a teammate, and he wasn't overly convincing in his brief argument.

Even Green's nearest and dearest would have spared the poor ball another good kicking in this case.

But the legend grows and the ball came up again as Herbert and Nelsen conducted their last major press conference at the training ground at Daveyton before facing Slovakia.

Nelsen said: "It's just getting used to the flight of the ball. The ball kind of moves a bit differently in altitude. It always takes a couple of days, but you just get used to it and then you get on with it."

The suggestion is the All Whites will try to take a few shots from longer range and hope for a lucky swerve.

The opening match between South Africa and Mexico saw players struggling at times with the flight, as the ball tended to drift.

Nelsen said: "I find it kind of gets on you quicker than you kind of expect. That's something we have to worry about. But it's the same thing for them as well."

Herbert confirmed that defender Winston Reid, who has displayed a powerful shot, was set to take long-range free kicks.

"I think from the goalkeepers you're going to see a little bit more punching and parrying the ball," said Herbert.

"You've probably seen that from Mark [Paston] a little bit as well, certainly through Europe. But I don't think that's going to be unique to ourselves."

Indeed, the Argentine keeper Sergio Romero parried a waist-high shot away against Nigeria instead of taking a catch.

For an underdog side such as the All Whites, who may well need a touch of luck to come away with even a point from the World Cup group games, the ball factor could almost be seen as a bonus.

Oddball goals are in the offing, even if goalkeepers' nerves rather than the ball itself are at fault, and the best sides may have some of their best work undone.

Meanwhile, Herbert said he was in a buoyant mood as the first game approached.

"Yeah, I'm really happy. I could see it coming off the back of the warm-up games. We've done what we've had to do. Now we're in that vacuum of just preparing so ... it's players' time now and what they do over the next two or three days," he said.

A surreal aspect to watching the early World Cup games in the magnificent South African stadiums is imagining the New Zealand side running out on to some of these same arenas.

This is a daunting sporting world stage, of brilliant technique and growing athletic power. Some of the skill levels - especially in the game between Argentina and Nigeria - have been breathtaking and are, to be brutal, far above what the All Whites are capable of.

Herbert will also go into the matches with two young defenders and while Reid and Tommy Smith are hugely talented, they are inexperienced and have only just started building combinations with Ryan Nelsen. Leaving Ellis Park you could only wonder how New Zealand would survive having Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez running at them. The wild ball could be their friend, but also the least of their worries.