Nelsen, who plays for Queens Park Rangers in the English Premier League, is disappointed not to be joining them but says the team is capable of getting the job done without him and Reid.
“I think they’ll be fine,” he says.
“I think if they keep it tight and solid then we’ll get the chances because of the quality we have. If we take those chances then that will be good.”
The All Whites won both of their first two Stage 3 qualifying matches, while their opponents tonight, the Toa Aito, lost theirs.
However, in the interim Tahiti have gone on to record three wins from four games at the French Overseas Territories Cup – including a 1-0 victory over New Caledonia who had earlier beaten them 4-0 in World Cup qualifying.
Nelsen says after those two losses Tahiti might be a bit down but acknowledges the games in France may buoy them against the All Whites.
“It might make it a bit harder, they might know each other a bit better,” he says.
“It’s hard to say – it’s sport. But in the end when you look at the quality we have we should be fine.”
Nelsen is not the only All White who is confident in the team’s ability to produce a positive result against Tahiti.
Ipswich Town defender Tommy Smith is tipped to captain the squad in Nelsen’s absence, and says while the Premier League pair will be missed, it’s not something the players are focusing on.
“The squad is of a quality that can get through things like this without them so we’re still confident we can get the result,” he says.
He does not expect it will be an easy run though – especially as the match is at the Toa Aito’s home ground of Stade Pater in Papeete.
“I don’t think many New Zealand sides have picked up wins there in the past so we’ll be looking at videos of how we can get at the Tahitian side, how we can beat them. It’s always hard going away at any time of the year but we just have to make sure we play well and get the job done.”

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