Soccer: Herbert juggling roles as he jets off

Ricki Herbert. Photo / NZPA

Ricki Herbert flew out to Japan with New Zealand's Olympic men's soccer team with three hats in his bag.

First off he will be "technical advisor" to under-23 coach Neil Emblen and his assistant, former All Whites captain Chris Zoricich; secondly he will be casting his All Whites eye over all players with upcoming World Cup qualifiers in mind and thirdly he will continue his hunt for a player or two to complete the roster at the Wellington Phoenix.

"I am going with the team fundamentally in my role as national coach," said Herbert.

"I will be with the team in Japan and Korea for the games against their under-23 teams who will also be playing at the Olympics. "

The game against Japan at Tokyo's National Stadium will be played tonight (kick-off 10.30pm) with the game against Korea on Saturday.

The team will then travel to London and spend two days in the Olympic Village before flying to Austria to play the United Arab Emirates in their final warm-up game on July 19. They will then fly direct to Coventry to prepare for their first Olympic match against Belarus on July 26.

Herbert will not go to Austria instead he will watch the game between the Great Britain and Brazil Olympic teams and will also watch Belarus in another warm-up game. Belarus are New Zealand's first Olympic opponent and Brazil their last. They play their second game against Egypt at Old Trafford.

While team selection will be with Emblen, Herbert sees his scouting role as important.

"Just as seeing these players in action is important," said Herbert. "We will be naming an All Whites squad of 18 players immediately after the Olympics for the World Cup qualifiers and there could be up to nine players from this squad named for the World Cup games."

The three over-age players, Ryan Nelsen, Shane Smeltz and Michael McGlinchey are certainties for All Whites selection as are Tommy Smith, Chris Wood, Kosta Barbarouses and Marco Rojas.

Herbert also continues to juggle the Phoenix ball as he prepares for the new Hyundai A-League season. He has already confirmed a three-match tour to play club sides in India and will also play the Newcastle Jets next month.

Tim Brown, Chris Greenacre, Daniel Cortes, Nicky Ward, Brent Griffiths and Nik Tsattalios have gone from last year's squad while Jeremy Brockie, Benjamin Totori and Glen Moss have come in.