All Whites coach Ricki Herbert last night confirmed his starting XI for the World Cup qualifier.
A feature is the glut of attackers. While the All Whites do not necessarily have to score lots of goals - one may do - Herbert has opted to play most of his attacking players on what should be a good Forsyth Barr Stadium pitch.
Red-hot striker Chris Wood is joined by veteran marksman Shane Smeltz and Marco Rojas, who has been dominating the A-League, up front.
That has forced Killen into the middle, where he will be joined by anchor Michael McGlinchey. Leo Bertos is on one flank and Jeremy Brockie, despite his prolific scoring record playing up front for the Phoenix this season, is on the other.
Mark Paston gets the nod in goal, with injury ruling out Phoenix team-mate Glen Moss yesterday morning. Jacob Spoonley has been called into the squad for the matches with New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands.
New All Whites captain Winston Reid leads a three-man defence including the ageless Ivan Vicelich and classy Ipswich man Tommy Smith.
Wood was never going to be left out, but he summed up the dilemma Herbert faced when he planned his line-up.
''We have talent all the way through the team from the back to the front,'' Wood said.
''There are a lot of good strikers in this team these days, so it is good competition for us all.
''All the strikers are on form, so if you are not playing well then you won't find yourself in the team.''
Wood, now with Leicester City, has been in fine goal-scoring form since transferring from West Bromwich Albion last year.
He scored twice in his debut for Leicester and a couple of weeks later poked in a hat trick before half-time in a match against Bristol City.
Once Wood returns to his club, he has the prospect of promotion to the Premier League to keep him hungry.
The top two teams in the championship earn automatic promotion but the teams placed third to sixth play off, with the winner earning promotion. Leicester is in sixth spot, with eight games remaining.
''It is very exciting. We just need to knuckle down for these games to make sure we keep ourselves in the playoff places.''
If Leicester is successful, Wood believes the team has the talent to compete in the Premier League, which is ultimately where he would like to play his football.
Wood came off the bench for West Brom to play a Premier League match against Portsmouth in April 2009. He was just the fifth New Zealander to play in the league.
