Herbert looks to reignite team before facing Iraq

All Whites coach Ricki Herbert is looking to reignite the spark in his players before they face Asian champions Iraq on Sunday morning (NZT) in what has become a dry run for the away leg of the World Cup playoff.

On Thursday morning, a tired-looking All Whites went down 0-2 to Confederations Cup hosts South Africa -- New Zealand's fifth international in 14 days -- ending any hope of qualifying for the semifinals.

However, the bigger aim for New Zealand was always to prepare for a home-and-away World Cup playoff against the fifth best Asian nation -- either Bahrain or Saudi Arabia -- in October and November, and Herbert says their tournament swansong is far from a dead rubber.

"It has all the ingredients of what we'll face in the away leg in October," Herbert said.

"We're away from home in a stadium we've never played in before against a Middle Eastern side who can make the next round with a win. We can really lay a marker for later in the year with a good performance here."

The All Whites have an informal session with local school children in Johannesburg and an official walkover at Ellis Park, but in between Herbert is offering the players a change in routine after four weeks on tour.

"It's been a long tour and it has caught up with a few players. Maybe we missed some of the signs of mental and physical fatigue against Spain because the European champions have been doing that to everyone over something like 34 games now.

"But the energy levels that were there against Italy weren't there against South Africa and we need to address it rather than risk slipping further.

"We'll do things differently before Iraq as we need everyone back to their best to compete with the Asian champs."

There is still the small matter of New Zealand's first point at a Confederations Cup, a tournament goal that has yet to be realised.

"History has been a big motivator for this group of players for the last four years and getting that first point at a Confederations Cup still drives us."

Herbert may resist the urge for wholesale changes but Mark Paston should get a run in goal in place of the impressive Glen Moss, who is suspended from the World Cup playoff in October and November while Ben Sigmund may get his chance in the centre of defence.

Outside that, the All Whites coaching staff plan to wait and see how players respond physically and mentally over their final training day before making selection calls.