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EspañolNEW ZEALAND NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
The 'New Zealand national football team', nicknamed the ' ''All Whites'' ', is the national team of New Zealand and is controlled by New Zealand Football.
It has reached the World Cup Finals only once, in 1982, but lost all three games. Because of the lack of a high-quality domestic league, most talented New Zealand footballers ply their trade in the higher-class leagues of England, the United States, and Australia.
New Zealand usually battled Australia for top honours in the OFC. They won the OFC Nations Cup three times, in 1973, 1998, and 2002. In 2004, however, a 2-2 draw on the final matchday of the Oceania Nations Cup 2004 between Australia and Solomon Islands not only denied them from meeting Australia in the final, but also eliminated them from the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, with Australia's move to the Asian Football Confederation, New Zealand are now firm favourites to qualify for the final AFC qualifying stage in future World Cup cycles.[1] The white strip was originally based on the colour of England's strip and name is in contrast with the rugby union team, the All Blacks.
| Contents |
| Development |
| World Cup record |
| Oceania Nations Cup record |
| Current squad |
| Goalkeepers |
| Defenders |
| Midfielders |
| Strikers |
| Notable players |
| Notes and references |
| External links |
Development
Despite its large player numbers, New Zealand football struggles to compete with other sports such as Rugby union, Rugby league and cricket, financially and for media exposure. Given the size of New Zealand's population, and the worldwide popularity of football, it is unlikely that the New Zealand national team will ever consistently rank as highly in its sport as the Rugby, Rugby league and Cricket teams do in theirs. The performance of the national team is further hindered by a weak domestic league. However, Wellington Phoenix FC competes in the Australian A-League. The best known current players are Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Nelsen and Celtic striker Chris Killen. Several young players have shown promise in breaking through into the senior side, most notably Fulham FC's Chris James and striker Jeremy Brockie.
World Cup record
★ 1930 to 1966 - ''Did not enter''
★ 1970 to 1978 - ''Did not qualify''
★ 1982 - Round 1
★ 1986 to 2006 - ''Did not qualify''
Oceania Nations Cup record
★ 1973 - 'Champions'
★ 1980 - Round 1
★ 1996 - Semifinals
★ 1998 - 'Champions'
★ 2000 - Second place
★ 2002 - 'Champions'
★ 2004 - Third place
★ 2008 - qualified
Current squad
Goalkeepers
Defenders
Midfielders
Strikers
Notable players
New Zealand born Rory Fallon is undecided on his nationality although it seems likely that he'll pledge his allegiance to England.
Notes and references
1. Starting with the qualification cycle for the , the winner of OFC qualifying will receive a place in the final AFC qualifying group.
External links
★ NZ Soccer
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