'It's never easy'

All Whites soccer coach Ricki Herbert has backed the same 18 players from the away leg of a World Cup playoff against Bahrain to finish the job of qualifying in Wellington on November 14.

A gutsy goalless draw in Manama on October 10 means the All Whites will earn a place at the World Cup finals for the first time since 1982 if they win in front of a capacity 35,000 home crowd.

While Herbert has retained the same match day 18 from the first leg, the All Whites coach said it wasn't necessarily a straightforward decision.

"It's never easy to go with final squad for the most important game but I think there has been consistency with this group of players that has gone through Jordan and Bahrain and we just feel it's important to keep that intact," Herbert said.

Injury and illness concerns over three key players have been allayed. Captain Ryan Nelsen has avoided the swine flu scare at Blackburn Rovers and Rory Fallon is recovering well from a calf strain that saw him hobble out of Plymouth Argyle's English Championship match against Ipswich Town last weekend.

Goalkeeper Mark Paston is also expected to be available after being placed in the doubtful category after a hip injury forced him from the field early in Wellington Phoenix's 1-3 A-League loss to Sydney FC in Sydney last night.

He limped from the field after colliding with Phoenix defender Ben Sigmund in just the eighth minute.

A Phoenix spokesman today said Paston had been examined by a doctor in Sydney and a club medical assistant.

There was no reason to believe the goalkeeper would be forced to miss the qualifier in Wellington. He said Paston suffered only bruising.

Paston was New Zealand's star performer in the draw with Bahrain in the first leg of the World Cup playoff in the National Stadium, Riffa, on October 10.

"As we stand we've got no injury concerns or medical problems," Herbert said.

The All Whites assembled in Wellington yesterday. While a New Zealand victory would confirm qualification for South Africa, a score draw would be enough for Bahrain to progress on the away goals rule.

A repeat of the 0-0 first leg score line would send the fixture into extra time and then to a penalty shootout if no further goals were scored.

FIFA confirmed earlier this week that goals scored by Bahrain in extra time would also count double if the match remains tied after the extra 30 minutes.

All Whites squad

James Bannatyne, Mark Paston, Andrew Boyens, Tony Lochhead, David Mulligan, Ryan Nelsen, Aaron Scott, Ben Sigmund, Ivan Vicelich, Andy Barron, Leo Bertos, Tim Brown, Simon Elliott, Michael McGlinchey, Rory Fallon, Chris Killen, Shane Smeltz, Chris Wood.