All Whites practice shootout behind closed doors

The All Whites ramped up their build up for Saturday’s FIFA World Cup play-off against Bahrain in an off-limits training session that included practicing penalties.

After three very public trainings at Endeavour Park in Whitby, New Zealand secreted themselves away to the slightly more secluded Newtown Park to run through set pieces.

At the same time as Bahrain’s private jet full of players, management and fans were touching down from the warmer climes of Sydney, the All Whites took turns at replicating the lonely journey from the halfway line to the penalty spot, just in case the tie reaches it’s most nerve-jangling climax.

Even the goalkeepers stepped up to take a spotkick to cover all possibilities. Saturday’s second leg would need to finish goalless after 90 minutes, like the first leg in Manama, and remain so through 30 minutes of extra time for the match to go to a shootout, as a score draw would see Bahrain progress on the away goals rule.

New Zealand must win the tie to return to the World Cup after a 27-year absence and the simpler equation has led to a positive mindset from Herbert and his players who are determined to get on the front foot early and take the match to the favoured Bahrainis.

Meanwhile, Simon Elliott upped his participation in training, including taking full part in some team drills as he races to recover from a hip injury. New Zealand complete their on-field preparation with Friday night's official run at Westpac Stadium.

Official Squads

New Zealand (from): 1-Mark PASTON (GK), 2-Aaron SCOTT, 3-Tony LOCHHEAD, 4-Ben SIGMUND, 5-Ivan VICELICH, 6-Ryan NELSEN (Captain), 7-Simon ELLIOTT, 8-Tim BROWN, 9-Shane SMELTZ, 10-Chris KILLEN, 11-Leo BERTOS, 12-Michael MCGLINCHEY, 13-Chris WOOD, 14-Rory FALLON, 15-David MULLIGAN, 16-Andrew BOYENS, 17-Andy BARRON, 18-James BANNATYNE (GK).
Coach: Ricki Herbert

Bahrain (from): 1-Sayed Mohamed Jaffar (GK), 2-Mohamed Husain Mohamed, 3-Ahmed Hassan Taleb, 4-Abdulla Baba Fatadi, 5-Mohamed Ahmed Hubail, 6-Hussain Salman Maki, 8-Jaycee John, 7-Sayed Mahmood Jala9-Hussain Ali Ahmed, , 10-Mohamed Ahmed Salmeen (captain), 11-Ismaeel Abdullatif Ismaeel, 12-Faouzi Mubarak Aaish, 13-Mahmood Abdulrahman Mohamed, 14-Salman Isa Ali, 15-Abdulla Ismaeel Omar, 16-Sayed Mohamed Adnan, 17-Husain Ali Hassan, 18-Abbas Ahmed Ali (GK), 22-Abdulla Mohamed Al-Kaabi (GK).
Coach: Milan Máčala