KEY POINTS:
BEIJING - Captain Ryan Nelsen will be missed but the absence of speedy forward Jeremy Brockie could be felt just as hard by the New Zealand men's soccer team as they plan for tomorrow's sudden death Olympic encounter with Belgium.
The only man to score in New Zealand's
campaign, Brockie is suspended from the match at Shanghai which New Zealand must win to have any chance of advancing to the quarterfinals of the under-23 tournament.
Yellow cards to Brockie during the 1-1 draw with China and 0-5 humbling from Brazil means coach Stu Jacobs must explore other means to unlock the Belgian defence as a scoreless performance will mark the end of their debut at the Games.
Inexperienced pair Daniel Ellensohn and Sam Messam are the options Jacobs has to play alongside Celtic front man Chris Killen, who was a lone striker against Brazil as New Zealand focused on defence - somewhat unsuccessfully.
"The system we played against China (two strikers) seemed to work," Jacobs said.
"We just need the right personnel. Yes with Jeremy out, it's a loss. He's been in form right through the pre-Olympic campaign and you can't complain about the goal he scored."
Less taxing for Jacobs is replacing Nelsen, who flew out as planned yesterday to resume his duties with English Premier League club Blackburn.
Steven Old will return from suspension - he was sent off against China - and slot alongside 19-year-old Michael Boxall in central defence.
A glimmer of hope shone on the Oly-Whites today when Belgium lost the services of their premier defender Vincent Kompany, who has been forced to return to his German club Hamburg in a similar scenario to Nelsen.
Like Nelsen, Kompany had expressed a desire to remain with the national team but had eventually bowed to pressure from Hamburg.
Kompany was a key plank in a Belgium side who aren't renowned for fancy football, Jacobs said.
"They're probably similar to ourselves really, they're a wee bit more direct.
"Technically they're probably not as good as the Brazilians or the Chinese but physically quite dominating."
After losing just 0-1 to Brazil and beating China 2-0, Belgium need only draw with New Zealand to advance to the quarters.
"If we can keep the players fresh, that's the key. We looked tired (against Brazil)," Jacobs said.
"I would guess with what's at stake on Wednesday that they'll be motivated to play."
More good news for the Oly-Whites is that Belgium feature no Manchester United players in their squad.
The first goal New Zealand have conceded in both their games were to players from the English giants - China's Fangzhuo Dong and Brazilian Anderson.
- NZPA
