Wellington -
Chris Wood and Winston Reid, players who play in English Premier League clubs, stand out in New Zealand's call-up for the playoff against Peru for a spot in the World Cup.
Wood, Burnley's forward, and Reid, West Ham's defender, missed recent Premier League matches due to injuries. Wood recovered from a muscular ailment and Reid overcame a calf discomfort.
Both had action last weekend. Reid played the full 90 minutes in the 4-1 defeat against Liverpool and Wood played 65 minutes in the 1-0 victory against Southampton.
New Zealand's coach, Anthony Hudson, also called up forwards Jeremy Brockie and Rory Fallon, who had been absent from the "All Whites" for over a year.
Fallon scored the winning goal for New Zealand against Bahrain in their last match of the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, qualifying for the tournament held in South Africa. Fallon now plays for Dorchester Town, a club in the seventh division of English football.
Also read: All the information on the Road to Russia 2018 qualifiers
Brockie has only scored one goal for the national team since his debut 11 years ago. The first leg match next Saturday will be his 50th match with the national team.
New Zealand won the Oceania qualifiers to earn the right to face Peru - fifth in South America - in the playoff to define a spot for Russia 2018. The return leg will be played in Lima on November 15.
"Our team's objective is simple. We have to play our best match of the campaign and, if we achieve it, we will have a good chance of qualifying for the World Cup."
New Zealand's call-up to face Peru
Goalkeepers: Max Crocombe, Stefan Marinovic, Glen Moss.
Defenders: Michael Boxall, Kip Colvey, Andrew Durante, Dane Ingham, Winston Reid, Storm Roux, Tommy Smith, Themi Tzimopoulos, Deklan Wynne.
Midfielders: Clayton Lewis, Michael McGlinchey, Marco Rojas, Ryan Thomas, Bill Tuiloma.
Forwards: Kosta Barbarouses, Jeremy Brockie, Rory Fallon, Monty Patterson, Shane Smeltz, Chris Wood. (I)