TOMMY Smith has led New Zealand into the semi-finals of the Oceania Nations Cup – and a small step closer to qualification for the Brazil World Cup.

The Ipswich Town defender captained the All Whites to a 2-1 win over Papua New Guinea which moved them into the last four of the ONC competition, which doubles as a qualifying stage for the 2014 World Cup.

It also stretched his unbeaten run as international captain to four games with the All Whites facing tournament hosts, the Solomon Islands, on Wednesday before a semi-final date on Friday.