The All Whites are preparing to face a tactically aggressive Bahrain in the opening leg of their World Cup soccer qualifier next week.
New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert, who today named his squad to travel to Manama, expected Bahrain would adopt an attack-minded approach from the first whistle on October 11 (NZ time).
"They will move people forward and are mobile out of midfield, and they have two good fullbacks who like to join in as well," he said.
"If we can keep them pinned a little bit through positioning players a little higher up the park and stop a lot of their penetration, that could be helpful."
Herbert said the All Whites had up-to-date information about their opponents, with assistant coach Brian Turner and technical advisor Raul Blanco having seen saw them beat Saudi Arabia to set up the tie with New Zealand.
He said the All Whites would have to guard against having an overly defensive mindset for the away leg and hoping they could hold out for the full 90 minutes.
"No matter who you play now internationally, it's a vulnerable position to put yourself in," he said.
"Hence, we need outlets at the top that are strong and can hold the ball up and allow us time and allow people to move up and support."
Herbert said it was a case of finding the balance between collective strength in defence and "when we are on the ball, we play."
He raised the prospect of fielding a defensive line of three centre backs in skipper Ryan Nelsen, Ivan Vicelich and Ben Sigmund, complemented by two wing backs.
Up front, he said having the combination of Chris Killen and Chris Wood operating together, with Shane Smeltz playing off them, was a possibility.
The 19-man tour party that Herbert unveiled contained few surprises.
Blackburn captain Nelsen will lead a squad that is relatively unchanged from the one that won 3-1 away against Jordan last month.
Killen, who has been in good goal-scoring touch for Celtic, and West Bromich Albion forward Wood, both late withdrawals from the friendly in Amman because of injury, return to the mix.
The one real addition is Auckland City keeper Jacob Spoonley, who will provide cover for Mark Paston and James Bannatyne.
Spoonley comes in because Glen Moss, who played in the Confederations Cup in South Africa in June, is sitting out a four-match World Cup ban.
Other left out from the larger squad that went to the Confederations Cup are Kris Bright, Chris James, Steven Old, Duncan Oughton, Jeremy Brockie and Jeremy Christie.
Herbert said the depth at his disposal made for some tough choices.
He cited North Queensland forward Brockie, who has been battling a hamstring injury, as being probably the most unlucky to miss selection.
Herbert and the Wellington Phoenix's contingent of All Whites depart for the Middle East from Australia after the A-League match against Smeltz and the high-flying Gold Coast on Friday.
The rest of the New Zealand-based players and staff leave Auckland on Monday.
The All Whites will assemble in Dubai early next week and will head to Manama the day before the opening leg against Bahrain.
The return leg is in Wellington on November 14, with the winners of the tie booking a place at the World Cup finals in South Africa next year.
NZPA