Soccer: All Whites to stick with tried and true

Ricki Herbert is waiting to see how some players pull up in the next 24 hours or so, but says his preference is to make few changes. Photo / File.

After signalling a change of formation against Honduras on Sunday, All Whites coach Ricki Herbert is now expected to stick with what he knows best and again utilise a 3-4-3 in the second game of their American tour.

The All Whites secured an encouraging 2-2 draw with El Salvador yesterday, when they created a number of good chances and troubled the world's 49th-ranked side even though they were missing a number of key players.

It's one of the reasons Herbert doesn't feel like he needs to change things too much. It worked well and probably better suits the personnel he has at his disposal but he has hinted at reverting to a more traditional 4-4-2 for next week's Oceania Nations Cup in the Solomon Islands, which double as the first phase of World Cup qualifiers, and Honduras would be the last chance to employ it before the qualifiers.

But Herbert will also want to secure another good result to boost confidence ahead of the qualifiers and he might feel changing formation could unsettle things.

"The current shape has proven again that it's a good way for us to play,'' he said of the 3-4-3 formation. "And if we wanted to go to a back four then I would be comfortable switching to that in the Solomon Islands without doing it here. Winston Reid and Tony Lochhead will join us [for those games] and give us extra depth in defence.

"At this stage we probably won't make a lot of change to the starting 11 but might have a different variety of substitutes coming on.''

Fatigue could have a say in that. The side travelled to Dallas today and most of those who started against El Salvador were excused from training. For many it was their first competitive match in at least a month and it was played in hot and humid conditions.

Two who could see more time are Chris Wood and Jeremy Brockie, who both started on the bench against El Salvador, and 18-year-old striker Tim Payne is expected to make his debut later in the match. New Zealand have a wealth of options up front, and will add more in the Solomon Islands when both Chris Killen and Rory Fallon join the squad, and how best to utilise them is a conundrum.

Marco Rojas and Kosta Barbarouses were among New Zealand's best against El Salvador, as they combined pace and trickery to trouble the Central Americans. But neither are strong defensively and playing in a three up front probably suits them better than as wide midfielders in a 4-4-2.

Herbert expects Honduras to play in a similar way to El Salvador _ quick and skilful _ and they come into the match on the back of a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica last month. They beat both Serbia (2-0) and Jamaica (2-1) late last year and are presently ranked 62 in the world - New Zealand are 130.

The two sides last met in October 2010 when they played out a 1-1 draw at North Harbour Stadium in what was billed a post-World Cup homecoming for the All Whites.

The two games are proving invaluable for the All Whites, not least of all because of the growing depth that is emerging, but it is also a good chance for Herbert to look at side they might meet in a World Cup playoff. The Oceania winners play the fourth-best side from Concacaf for a place at the 2014 World Cup.

"These games are massive for us,'' said Herbert, who will watch El Salvador play Moldova immediately prior to their own game. ``Both these sides are going to be very strong contenders if not to qualify automatically then certainly for that playoff spot.

"We are seeing what we need to see and players are getting time at this level as well.''

New Zealand side to play Honduras at the Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas, on Sunday (12.30pm NZT) (from): Mark Paston, Jake Gleeson, Glen Moss, Michael Boxall, Ben Sigmund, Tommy Smith (c), Jeremy Brockie, Aaron Clapham, Cameron Howieson, Adam McGeorge, Tim Payne, Leo Bertos, Ivan Vicelich, Michael McGlinchey, Ian Hogg, Marco Rojas, Shane Smeltz, Kosta Barbarouses, Chris Wood.