Smeltz opened the scoring in the 50th, Jeremy Christie added a second in the 69th and Smeltz made it a double after 77 minutes. His six consecutive scoring games matched the record set by Keith Nelson in 1978.

The Kiwis, who have qualified only once for the World Cup finals in 1982, have one more match to play in the series, against Fiji on November 19.

In Asuncion, Christian Riveros and Nelson Haedo Valdez scored in the first half as Paraguay dispatched Venezuela 2-0 to extend its lead in South American qualifying for the World Cup on Tuesday.

Paraguay has 17 points, followed by Brazil and Argentina with 12 each and Uruguay on 11.

Venezuela, loser of a third consecutive qualifier and the only South American country never to have played at a World Cup, was eighth in the 10-team standings with seven.

Riveros knocked a center pass into the lower right corner of the net, beyond the reach of Venezuela goalkeeper Renny Vega in the 28th.

Off a pass from Roque Santa Cruz, Valdez split Venezuela's porous defense to score into an open net a minute before halftime.

Santa Cruz, back after an ankle injury made him unavailable for last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Argentina, directed Paraguay's powerful offense, while Venezuela - faced with a tough defense - failed to create scoring opportunities at the Defensores del Chaco Stadium in the Paraguayan capital.

(Shanghai Daily September 11, 2008)