Soccer: Phoenix's awesome foursome fit for semi

Leo Bertos played 90 minutes against Mexico on Thursday. Photo / Getty Images

All four of the Phoenix's All Whites went virtually from the airport to the training ground yesterday and will play in the winner-take-all A-League semifinal against Newcastle today.

Tim Brown, Tony Lochhead, Ben Sigmund and Leo Bertos landed in Wellington yesterday morning, barely 24 hours before the biggest game of their club careers and after a 12-hour flight from Los Angeles.

But Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert will have no hesitation in naming them in today's line-up against the Jets.

"The boys are all good," Herbert said. "They look bright. All four will play. They came back in business class, did their recovery and had a good sleep. They did everything possible. They just have to front up again against Newcastle but I see no reason to leave them out."

The last fortnight has undoubtedly been a disruptive time for the club, with Herbert travelling to South Africa for a World Cup briefing before heading to Los Angeles with the All Whites.

Defenders Andrew Durante and Jon McKain were also in the Socceroos squad for the 1-0 Asian Cup win over Indonesia, although Durante didn't play and McKain is suspended today after being sent off in the match against Perth.

Herbert said they would cope, likening it to Premiership clubs who lose most of their players over international weekends and don't even train. The remainder of the Phoenix squad have been training throughout with Herbert's assistant Luciano Trani and Jonathan Gould.

They have also faced this situation before, having played Melbourne a couple of days after the All Whites' 3-1 defeat of Jordan in Amman. They drew that match 1-1 but played well enough to win.

"We are a professional club with international players now," Herbert said. "These things are going to happen."

It's unfortunate it happened in the biggest week of the club's short history. Today's match is a 35,000 sellout and the crowd could become an important factor, especially if legs start to tire.

Lochhead, Sigmund and Bertos played 90 minutes against Mexico, while Brown played 79.

Sigmund will come in for McKain in the only change from the side which beat Perth on penalties.