All Whites dream of return to WC

In a country oozing with pride for its All Blacks rugby side and Kiwis cricket team, the lesser-known All Whites soccer team are suddenly the talk of New Zealand.

The sports-mad Pacific country has enjoyed seven cricket and six rugby World Cups since it was last represented at the soccer World Cup finals, in 1982.

Few remember that ever happened but now only a two-legged playoff stands between New Zealand and the World Cup in South Africa next year. The All Whites breezed though Oceania's World Cup qualifying and must now beat the fifth-placed Asian zone team in a playoff late this year.

"There's a lot of anticipation about whether a New Zealand football team can get to the World Cup," coach Ricki Herbert told Reuters before last week's friendly with the Thai national team, which they lost 3-1.

"It's a great feel-good factor for us, having people talk about us and speculate on whether we can make it again."

Herbert knows that feeling well, having been a member of the only New Zealand team to reach the finals, in Spain 27 years ago, when they were eliminated after heavy defeats by Brazil, Scotland and the former Soviet Union.

The affable North Islander is concerned that New Zealand's memories of playing at the World Cup are fading away and is determined to get the All Whites back in the tournament and give the national game a much-needed boost.

"We started off on a hopeful journey in 1981 and ended up playing some of the biggest countries in world football," he said of the 1982 finals.

"To see that kind of thing again would be incredible. I'm fond of that era but I want to move on.

"That was many years ago. It's now their turn to go on that journey and I think these guys are the ones to do it, I really do."

Even without some of their overseas-based players, who are spread as far afield as the United States, Finland, Belgium and England, the All Whites obliterated their opposition in the Oceania confederation.

They won five and lost one of their six matches, finishing with almost twice the points tally of second-placed New Caledonia.

Their playoff opponents will not be known until after the Asian zone qualifiers end in June, and the two third-placed Asian teams play off against each other, but are likely to be Bahrain, Iran, North Korea or Gulf giants Saudi Arabia. Herbert admits victory against one of those sides is a long shot but believes his side have the mettle to pull it off.

"We have the ability to get something out of this and it has to be a strong possibility for us," he said. "Some team has to come all the way down to New Zealand and we'll make it tough."

Defender Ryan Nelsen, a regular with English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers, said Australia's switch to the Asia confederation had undoubtedly helped New Zealand's cause.

"They rode off into the sunset to Asia. We'd probably like to be in Asia too if I'm honest, it's fantastic competition, but we've just got to win the games put in front of us," he told Reuters.

"We're in with a shot, the Asian teams are not easy but the last qualifier for the 2006 finals was between Bahrain and Trinidad & Tobago. BANGKOK, Reuters