Youngest captain delighted with drawn El Salvador match
THE English accent is as strong as ever, but Tommy Smith has described captaining the All Whites as the proudest moment of his career.
With Ryan Nelsen out injured, Smith became the youngest ever captain of the national men’s football team on Thursday in the All Whites’ 2-2 draw against El Salvador.
And as Smith, 22, and team-mate Chris Wood trudged their way down to the reception of their Texas hotel – after locking the door keys inside their room – little did he know he was about to find a place in history.
‘‘Me and Woodsy had locked ourselves out of our hotel room, we were downstairs getting a new key,’’ Smith told the Sunday News.
‘‘Ricki [Herbert] was sat in the lobby and called me over and mentioned I’d be captaining the side.
‘‘I didn’t really know what to say, I think all I managed to say was ‘thanks’, that was about it, I was speechless to be honest.
‘‘It’s the proudest moment of my career so far, an absolute honour to wear the armband and I can only thank the manager for that.’’
This afternoon the All Whites play Honduras in Dallas, in the second match of a two-game American tour.
Coping with extreme southern temperatures, Herbert has already indicated he will wait to assess the fitness of his squad before giving too much thought to today’s team.
And with Smith also revealing more of the difficult environment and preparations thrown at the Kiwis before the El Salvador draw, that result from a very young side becomes more impressive.
It’s also encouraging ahead of today’s game, with Honduras a possible 2014 World Cup qualifying opponent.
‘‘We didn’t have much time to prepare for the game against El Salvador, so I think 2-2 was a really good result for us,’’ Smith said.
‘‘Especially against a team ranked in the world top 50, we did well.
‘‘Chris Wood and I only arrived in America the day before the game, we only had one training session and weren’t even allowed on the pitch.
‘‘We were only able to have a couple of team meetings and went through some things. It wasn’t the best preparation.
‘‘If we’d had a few more days to prepare I don’t think we’d have been so happy with a draw. But under the circumstances, it was a good result.
‘‘Even though there’s some young players in this squad we know we’ve got the talent. Every player is in this squad on merit and because they’re good enough to be there. It’s a strong team.
‘‘Honduras has got some good players, people who are playing in the Premier League, so they’ll be another good test for us.
‘‘We’re running through a few things on them before the game and will be watching a video before the match.
‘‘We’ll be going into this game having identified their strengths and weaknesses.
‘‘A good performance is important and the result will give us a good idea of where we’re at, looking forward to World Cup qualifying.
‘‘But, before we even think about that, we’ve got to negotiate the tricky conditions of getting through the Oceania round in the Pacific.’’
Because next month’s OFC Nations Cup (which doubles as preliminary World Cup qualifying) falls into an international window, Smith confirmed he is keen to make the long-haul trip from Europe to the Solomon Islands.
And as a shoo-in for Neil Emblen’s under-23 Olympic Games squad, Smith is also looking forward to a ‘‘special’’ Olympic campaign – in the country where he was born and plies his career with Ipswich Town in the English second tier.
‘‘The Olympics is going to be another fantastic experience and another major sporting event on the CV next to the World Cup,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s going to be special, particularly in England because it’s such a football-loving country.’’