NEW Zealand coach Ricki Herbert has stuck with the same starting line-up that accounted for Serbia for his side's warm-up match against Slovenia in Maribor on Friday after Chris Killen was ruled out with a tight calf.
Killen missed the 1-0 win over 15th-ranked Serbia to get married and was due to slot straight back into the starting XI for the All Whites final match before their departure for South Africa.
But the Middlesbrough striker failed to get through New Zealand's last training run meaning West Brom teenager Chris Wood retains his starting spot up front alongside Shane Smeltz and Plymouth's Rory Fallon.
Impressive young defenders Winston Reid and Tommy Smith are also retained as is Jeremy Christie, who came in for the injured Tim Brown in midfield.
Herbert has already indicated he will turn to his bench, where six replacements are permitted, to keep his players fresh and injury-free.
"I think we've performed at a level that has shown what we can potentially do," said Herbert. "We've had two very competitive games on tour and now it's about protection.
"The last thing I want is injuries so we'll be very careful with this group. I'm not interested in the result."
Despite the unchanged line-up, Herbert insists he has yet to decide on his starting side for the World Cup opener against Slovakia on June 15.
"We've gone for a bit of stability for this match," he said.
"At the back I think it was important to play Winston Reid and Tommy Smith but there's massive competition there from Ivan Vicelich and Ben Sigmund, and those two will get time either in this match or against Chile."
New Zealand play Chile in a training match in Nelspruit on June 9.
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