Smeltz's double blast saw him join former international Keith Nelson in having struck in six consecutive games for his country. Jeremy Christie was New Zealand's other scorer - his first international goal.

Smeltz, who netted five minutes into the second half and then added his second 13 minutes from time, told www.nzfootball.co.nz: "Once we scored the first one they opened up a bit.

“We continued to play well throughout the rest of the match, controlling the tempo of the match and playing at our pace.”

Coach Ricki Herbert then hinted that changes would be made for the final group game, a dead rubber.

He said: “I tend to think it’ll be a very young side. There are some domestic players we want to give a little bit more time to – that have been part of what we’ve done over the last three years.”

“We wait and see what happens from discussions in the next 48 hours. I think it’s an opportunity for some boys that have been to some of the younger world Cups and Olympics. “