June 2 (Reuters) - Captain Chris Wood will carry New Zealand's hopes on their long-awaited return to the World Cup as the unfancied All Whites target a breakthrough win and a first trip to the knockout phase.
The 34-year-old striker is coming off an injury-blighted season for Nottingham Forest but he remains New Zealand's attacking spearhead and emotional leader as they prepare for their third World Cup and first since South Africa in 2010.
Wood also provides a vital link to the All Whites' past as a member of the Ricki Herbert-coached 2010 squad who bowed out at the group phase but won acclaim after drawing matches against Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay.
With only two players remaining from that squad, the other being 36-year-old defender Tommy Smith, that experience will be important in a roster of World Cup debutants who are easily the lowest-ranked in Group G against Iran, Egypt and Belgium.
With 45 goals from 88 matches, Wood is New Zealand's all-time leading scorer and their only player in a top European league.
His World Cup was in doubt until recently, though, following surgery on a chronic knee injury in December.
The knee will require careful management at the World Cup, said former All Whites boss Herbert.
"Chris's time on the pitch is going to be incredibly important, so hopefully he can manage his body through the whole three games," Herbert told Reuters.
"Then it's a matter of who you put around him."
AUTOMATIC BERTH
Like nations such as Curacao and Haiti, the expanded 48-team World Cup has been a blessing for Darren Bazeley's All Whites, with the Oceania region granted an automatic berth at the finals for the first time.
Previously, New Zealand had to win an intercontinental playoff to qualify and fell at that hurdle for the last three tournaments in Qatar, Russia and Brazil.
Their armchair ride to this year's finals, patchy lead-up form and fitness clouds over a slew of players have few backing them to make much of an impression.
The squad lacks a genuine midfield game-breaker and will struggle to cover for Wood if injury strikes.
But unlike many mid-tier nations, New Zealand know who they are and what they stand for: discipline, defence and dogged commitment.
Those qualities alone have frustrated more talented opponents. Throw in a goal or two from a semi-fit Wood and New Zealand might spring a surprise.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Ed Osmond)
