nzherald.co.nz will have live coverage of the All Whites World Cup squad announcement from 1pm.
Ricki Herbert played a circumspect hand in the countdown to today's naming of his World Cup squad after the final trial between New Zealand A and the NZFC All Stars at North Harbour Stadium.
But his coaching opposite at Albany, Neil Emblen, made no secret of who he believed made the most of the last chance to win a place in the 23-man squad for South Africa and the four-game build up programme.
Herbert preferred to avoid individual assessments before today's squad announcement.
New Zealand A, stacked with World Cup certainties and hopefuls, won 2-0 and Emblen - coach of national champions Waitakere - quickly identified the standout players.
New Zealand A midfielder Aaron Clapham, from Canterbury United, won his biggest tick, and defensive midfielder David Mulligan also got a slightly less effusive thumbs up.
From his All Stars side, Emblen gave a nod to wide attacker Allan Pearce, from Waitakere, and Auckland City wing-back Chad Coombes.
They were fair assessments in a match that had touches of class, but meandered to a finish.
The goals came via Jeremy Brockie, after Shane Smeltz held the ball up superbly in the 33rd minute, and Costa Barbarouses, after fine build-up from Leo Bertos and Clapham in the 73rd minute.
As a selection exercise, the precise value of the match was difficult to tell.
Herbert was non-committal about whether it had answered any questions, saying: "The main thing is that everyone has been given a fair and equal opportunity."
The likelihood is that the selection debates that continued last night between Herbert - in charge since 2005 - and his assistants Brian Turner, Raul Blanco and Clint Gosling will not have been overly swayed by a single match.
The game also served as a build-up for the May 24 clash against Australia in Melbourne, and the All Whites asked Emblen and his fellow All Stars coach Paul Posa to adopt the 4-2-3-1 formation favoured by the Ockers.
Emblen said: "The All Whites need to be patient, but they gave the ball away and put it out on a number of occasions against us."
Eight players went into the game knowing they had been identified as prospects for the final places.
They included Pearce, who was prominent from the outset.
Coombes also figured well and produced one excellent long range volley with his weaker left foot, a reminder of his wonder goal for Auckland City in the world club championship.
Clapham was the dominant figure though, overshadowing his international team mate Tim Brown in the New Zealand A midfield.
The A team were hampered slightly, as key defender Ivan Vicelich was carrying a thigh injury, and their A-league players had been out of action for a couple of months.
Emblen was clear in his player assessments.
"I thought Allan Pearce played very exciting football at times - he put in a real good performance, and he has done his chances plenty of good," he said.
"Chad Coombes was very good. He is so versatile - he did a decent job with his defensive duties although I think he is far better as an attacker.
"I thought Clapham was outstanding. I've seen a lot of him in the NZFC and I'm glad he is getting international notice. He's so reliable on the ball."
