Smeltz: Qualification still hasn’t sunk in

Gold Coast United and New Zealand striker, Shane Smeltz, returned to training with his United teammates yesterday to refocus on the Hyundai A-League after his nation’s heroics in Wellington last Saturday.

The Kiwis secured their ticket to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa with a sterling performance against Bahrain, progressing to the biggest sporting event on the planet thanks to a nerve-shredding 1-0 win.
 
Having watched on enviously as Australia qualified for the 2006 finals, Smeltz said there were similarities in New Zealand’s passage to next year’s tournament, with a sense of ‘destiny’ spurring the whole nation on.   
 
“It was similar (to Australia’s 2006 quest), the whole country was over the moon that we managed to get through and the feeling of having actually qualified for the World Cup is hard to describe or put into words,” he beamed.
 
“It’s a massive achievement that hasn’t really fully sunk in yet. A few days have passed since the game itself and we’ve had that time to think about it, but I guess it will be on our minds for quite a while yet.
 
“The excitement we all felt was unbelievable so I can only imagine what it will be like leading up to the tournament itself.
 
“Bahrain have been in that situation before and they were as desperate as we were to get through. But we were on our home turf with a massive crowd behind us and the whole country was supporting us; the place was buzzing.
 
“We are just grateful that we got the right result because it’s huge for football in New Zealand.”
 
With teammate and club skipper Jason Culina already able to plan for his second FIFA World Cup Finals, Smeltz admitted the thought of the two national rivals meeting in South Africa had crossed both their minds.
 
“We were having a bit of a laugh about that at training this morning. It would be a good match wouldn’t it?
 
“I wouldn’t mind being in the same group as Australia to be honest,” he smiled.