Good-natured jibes started between the A-League Golden Boot winner and club-mate Culina during United's training sessions last week, with both players looking to produce a solid performance for their respective countries before departing Australian shores.

"We trained together last week and there was a bit of banter about the game - we both love that kind of thing. It's going to be a good contest and we're both looking forward to it," Smeltz said.

"For the fans of both countries it's going to be a great event and a fantastic way to send both teams off to the World Cup.

"This week is the final camp and our preparation really starts to pick up as it's the 23 players who will be travelling to South Africa. Once we go into camp our thoughts will really start focussing on the World Cup itself - it's a very exciting time."

The All Whites are now a hot sporting property across the Tasman and the Gold Coast United attacking weapon says the euphoria that swept Australia during the 2006 Finals in Germany is now beginning to ramp up in New Zealand.

With two preparation matches in Europe following the clash with the Socceroos, then a final friendly versus Chile in South Africa, Smeltz and his team-mates will be in sharp focus even before they kick-off their World Cup exploits against Slovakia on June 15.

"Football is getting a lot of attention in New Zealand now with all the media hype and support from the public. It's great to see and fantastic for all the youngsters playing the game; I really hope it continues.

"Now that the final squad is selected we're all beginning to think about the games ahead of us. We have some really tough games in our pre-tournament friendlies, let alone what we face in the World Cup itself, so it's a great time for New Zealand and for football.

"Every opponent we'll face has world-class players and we're really looking forward to getting out there and testing ourselves against players of that calibre."

The All Whites are rank outsiders to make an impression during the tournament but Smeltz is more than happy with the underdog label that will be attached to them in South Africa.

An unknown quantity, especially at this level of competition, Smeltz believes New Zealand could well spring a surprise with virtually no pressure on them to advance past the group stage. A decent result in their opening encounter could well inspire the Kiwis to greater heights, he believes.

"The teams we're playing probably won't know too much about us, but we know plenty about them. We're concentrating on ourselves and now that we've qualified our ambition is to do as well as we possibly can," he added.

 "Like every team, we want to get something from the first game against Slovakia because we know what that would do for our confidence."