The 3-4-3 is the biggest bogeyman in New Zealand football.
I have to somewhat agree with Jeff Vader, though I'd also like to point out that against El Salvador and Honduras, where we got two pretty decent results, neither of those two were present.
It seems to me that our system falls apart when we are the team that is looking to control the game, which is very much the case against the island nations, but was also the case against Jamaica in February.
In those games, Nelsen and Reid's extra skill and understanding, as well as Nelsen's leadership, allow us to function as the dominant side while not losing defensive shape. When they are absent, it seems as if the positioning and awareness to cover the wide zones properly is missing. The wing-backs haven't tracked back often enough, and the wide centre-backs haven't spread out properly. The opposition is then easily able to double up on the wide centre-backs.
In games where we are on the defensive, such as those vs Honduras and El Salvador, the wing-backs found themselves pegged back, and so the problem solved itself, and back threes without Nelsen/Reid were able to cope.
Given that any eventual, big games (knock on wood, fingers crossed, etc.) will be against sides that will naturally dominate us, sticking with the 3-4-3 and instilling it in the players is, I feel, still the best course of action
That being said, the home qualifying fixtures provide the perfect opportunity to also practise a 4-4-2/4-2-3-1 system, like we used at the Olympics, so we are prepared should any injuries (again, knock on wood) eventuate. If Bertos is going to be an option at right back for the Phoenix, surely he can also be one for the All Whites?
Unfortunately, Ricki seems to persist with the 3-4-3 no matter the circumstances, which is a problem. The only time he's abandoned it was in the OFC Nation's Cup, so that he could give the first-choice XI a rest. It's weird, because he was able to see it didn't work for the 'nix that one time, so it's hard to understand why he can't see it not working sometimes for the All Whites.