New Zealand National Football Team / World Championships

New Zealand
New Zealand

World Cup record goalscorer:	04 players (1)
World Cup record players:	22 players (3)
Rank :	61
Balance sheet
6 World Cup games 0 wins 3 draws 3 defeats 4:14 goals
statistics
First World Cup game New Zealand 2: 5 Scotland Málaga ( ESP ); June 15, 1982
Highest World Cup victory No victory
Biggest World Cup defeat New Zealand 0: 4 Brazil Sevilla ( ESP ); June 23, 1982
successes
World Championship
Participation in the finals	2 ( first : 1982 )
Best results	Preliminary round, 1982 , 2010
Best placements in the countries that host the FIFA World Cup
(As of July 2014 )

The article contains a detailed description of the New Zealand national soccer team at soccer world championships . New Zealand took part in two world championships, but was eliminated in the first round. In the all-time table , New Zealand is the best team that has not yet won a World Cup game in 61st place.

Overview

year	Host country	Participation until ...	Last opponent	Result	Trainer	Comments and special features
1930	Uruguay	not participated				Not a FIFA member
1934	Italy	not participated				Not a FIFA member
1938	France	not participated				Not a FIFA member
1950	Brazil	not participated
1954	Switzerland	not participated
1958	Sweden	not participated
1962	Chile	not participated
1966	England	not participated
1970	Mexico	not qualified				In the qualifiers in the group stage of Israel failed, which could qualify for 1970 so far only time for a World Cup.
1974	Germany	not qualified				In the qualifiers in the group stage at Australia failed, that could for the first time to qualify for the World Cup.
1978	Argentina	not qualified				In the qualifiers in the group stage at Australia failed, which also could not qualify.
1982	Spain	Preliminary round	Scotland , USSR , Brazil	23.	John Adshead	Eliminated after three defeats as bottom of the group.
1986	Mexico	not qualified				In the qualifiers in the group stage at Australia failed, which also could not qualify.
1990	Italy	not qualified				In the qualification in the 2nd round, Israel failed, which could not qualify either.
1994	United States	not qualified				In the qualification in the Oceania final failed to Australia , which could not qualify either.
1998	France	not qualified				In the qualification again in the Oceania final failed to Australia , which could not qualify either.
2002	South Korea / Japan	not qualified				In the qualification again in the Oceania final failed to Australia , which could not qualify either.
2006	Germany	not qualified				In the qualification in the 2nd round, Australia failed again, which was able to qualify for Oceania for the first time after 1974, but then switched to the Asian association.
2010	South Africa	Preliminary round	Slovakia , Italy , Paraguay	22nd	Ricki Herbert	Since Australia was also able to qualify, albeit for the Asian association, two oceanic countries took part in a World Cup for the first time. But both were eliminated after the preliminary round. After three draws, New Zealand took third place in the group undefeated and was thus placed ahead of world champions Italy .
2014	Brazil	not qualified				As winners of the Oceania qualification , the team played in an intercontinental playoff round against the 4th of the CONCACAF qualification , Mexico , for a place in the world championship. New Zealand lost the first leg in Mexico 1: 5 and the second leg 2: 4.
2018	Russia	not qualified				As the winner of the Oceania qualification in the intercontinental playoffs, New Zealand could not prevail against Peru, the fifth in the South America qualification .
2022	Qatar

Statistics (data including qualification 2018: 21 world championships; percentages are rounded)

• No participation: 8 × (38%; 1930 to 1966)
• Unqualified: 11 × (52%; 1970, 1974, 1978, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2014 and 2018)
• Athletic qualification: 2 × (10% or 15% of the attempts)
  • Preliminary round: 2 × (10%; 1982 and 2010)

1930 to 1966

New Zealand, whose football association was founded in 1891, but was only accepted into FIFA in 1948, and which had already played its first international matches between 1922 and 1927, could not take part in the first three World Cups. Even after joining FIFA, New Zealand refrained from participating in World Cup qualifiers five times.

1970 in Mexico

New Zealand had registered for the first World Cup in Central America for the first time. Together with Australia, Israel , Japan , North and South Korea , they met in two groups of qualification . Australia prevailed against Japan and South Korea, New Zealand lost both games against Israel, the first World Cup qualifier on September 28, 1969 in Tel Aviv with 0: 4 and three days later at the same place with 0: 2. The games against North Korea were canceled as North Korea was disqualified for refusing to play in Israel . Australia then lost 1-0 to Israel in Ramat Gan and only scored 1-1 in the second leg in Sydney . This was the only time Israel had qualified for the World Cup finals.

1974 in Germany

In qualifying for the first World Cup in Germany, New Zealand met Australia, Iraq and Indonesia in the first round and finished the group last. After all, the first point was won in the first World Cup qualifier in New Zealand on March 4, 1973 in Auckland in a 1-1 draw against Australia. All other games took place in Australia and two more draws with three defeats were not enough. Australia subsequently managed to qualify for the first time for the World Cup finals, but they failed there in the preliminary round and then had to wait 32 years to qualify again.

1978 in Argentina

For the fourth World Cup in South America , New Zealand first had to play against Australia and the Republic of China in qualifying . On March 20, 1977 succeeded with a 6-0 win against the Republic of China, the first victory in a World Cup qualifying game and the second leg at the same location was won 6-0 three days later. Since it was only enough to draw in two games against Australia, only the second place was occupied, which was not enough to advance. But even Australia could not repeat the success of the last qualification and failed in the last round as group fourth.

1982 in Spain

For the qualification for the World Cup on the Iberian Peninsula , for which the teams from Asia and Oceania were granted two places for the first time, New Zealand had to compete in the first round against Australia, Indonesia , the Republic of China and Fiji and took first place. New Zealand did not lose a game and scored 31-3 goals. In the final round was behind Kuwait, which qualified for the only time so far and in second place ahead of China and Saudi Arabia, so that after 1974 an oceanic team took part in the World Cup again.

In Spain, the New Zealanders met Scotland in their first World Cup match and lost 5-2. Steve Sumner scored the first World Cup goal for the New Zealanders with the meanwhile 1: 3. Against the USSR a 0: 3 followed and against record world champions Brazil a 0: 4. Thus New Zealand said goodbye to the bottom of the group for 28 years from the World Cup stage.

1986 in Mexico

For political reasons, New Zealand and Australia were put into a group with Israel and the Republic of China to qualify for the second World Cup in Mexico . The winner then had to compete against a runner-up in a European group of four. New Zealand could not repeat the success of the last qualification and was tied with Israel but only third due to the worse goal difference and was eliminated. Group winners Australia could not prevail against Scotland, so that in 1986 no OFC team took part.

1990 in Italy

To qualify for the second World Cup in Italy , the New Zealanders first had to compete in a pre-qualification against the Republic of China. With two wins (4: 0 and 4: 1) they made it into the group stage. In this New Zealand finished behind Israel, which last had to play against the oceanic teams, and Australia only in third place. But Israel was unable to prevail against Colombia in the intercontinental playoffs .

1994 in the United States

To qualify for the World Cup in the USA , the New Zealanders were drawn into a group with Fiji and Vanuatu . New Zealand prevailed with three wins and one draw and then faced Australia in the Oceania final. Both games were lost (0: 1 and 0: 3). After that, Australia could not prevail in the intercontinental qualification. Although the first hurdle Canada was taken, the last hurdle, Vice World Champion Argentina , was then too high. With a 1-1 draw in Sydney and a 1-0 draw in Buenos Aires , Australia pulled out of the affair respectably.

1998 in France

The qualification for the second World Cup in France was similar. In the group stage, New Zealand prevailed despite a 0-1 opening defeat against Papua New Guinea with three more wins against Papua New Guinea and Fiji, but then retired in the ocean final with two defeats against Australia. In the play-off games against Iran, however, the Australians were eliminated after a 1-1 draw in Tehran and a 2-2 home game due to the away goals rule .

2002 in Japan and South Korea

Under the motto "The same procedure as every year" also was qualifying for the first World Cup in Asia . Again New Zealand prevailed sovereignly against the teams of the Pacific islands Tahiti , Solomon Islands , Vanuatu and Cook Islands and won all four games. As in the two previous qualifications, however, they lost in two games against Australia, which then lost out again in the play-off games against the South American fifth-placed Uruguay .

2006 in Germany

For the second World Cup in Germany , which also took place in Germany because the New Zealand FIFA representative Charles Dempsey abstained from the decisive vote contrary to his association's instructions, 12 OFC teams wanted to qualify, but there were still no direct launch site. New Zealand and Australia only had to compete in the second round, which was also played as the 2004 OFC Nations Cup . Behind Australia and the Solomon Islands, who faced each other again in the third round, New Zealand only finished third and was eliminated. Australia met Uruguay again after two more wins against the Solomon Islands. The first leg in Montevideo was lost 0-1 and the second leg was 1-0 for Australia after 90 minutes. Since no further goal was scored in the extra time required, there was a penalty shoot-out , which Australia won 4-2. This was the first time in 24 years that an OFC team took part. However, Australia then switched to the Asian continental association, as they were now entitled to four direct starting positions and there they calculated better chances of qualifying directly, which subsequently succeeded twice.

2010 in South Africa

The qualification for the first World Cup in Africa was the first in which New Zealand no longer met Australia. New Zealand was automatically qualified for the second round, which was also played as the OFC Nations Cup , while the three opponents New Caledonia , Fiji and Vanuatu had to qualify via the Pacific Games. New Zealand prevailed sovereignly and only lost the last game against Fiji after they had already made it through. Since the OFC teams were still not entitled to a direct starting place, New Zealand had to play against Bahrain . After a 0-0 win in Manama , the second leg in Wellington could be won 1-0, making New Zealand back to the finals after 28 years.

In South Africa, the team won their first World Cup point with a 1-1 draw in their first group match against newcomer Slovakia . To the surprise of all experts, a 1-1 draw against defending champions Italy was also achieved . With a 0-0 win against Paraguay in the last group game, New Zealand did not lose any of the three games, but were eliminated as third in the group. After all, they were one place better than defending champions Italy, who lost to Slovakia in the last game.

2014 in Brazil

In qualifying for the second World Cup in Brazil , New Zealand only had to compete in the second round, which took place as the 2012 Oceania Cup . New Zealand could surprisingly not win the championship, but qualify for the 3rd World Cup qualifying round. In this then New Caledonia, Tahiti , which had won the Oceania Championship, and the Solomon Islands with six wins in six games were eliminated. Then Mexico waited , which had only finished fourth in the CONCACAF qualification and thus had to go to the intercontinental play-offs. New Zealand lost both games (1: 5 and 2: 4), so no OFC representatives participated in 2014. Coach Ricki Herbert then resigned from his position. He was succeeded by the Englishman Anthony Hudson .

2018 in Russia

The Oceania qualification ran over three rounds. New Zealand began qualifying in the second round, facing Fiji , the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu in May and June 2016 . With three wins, New Zealand qualified for the third round. In this they prevailed with three wins and one draw against New Caledonia and Fiji again and then met the Solomon Islands again in the final. With a 6-1 home win and a 2-2 away game, they won the OFC qualification and had to face Peru, the fifth in the CONMEBOL qualification. After a goalless draw at home, they lost 2-0 in Lima and missed the finals again.

Ranking of New Zealand World Cup players with the most appearances

Due to the large gap between the two competitions, there was no player who was in two tournaments. 22 players came to 3 games each. Ricki Herbert took part as a player in 1982 and as a coach in 2010.

Ranking of the New Zealand World Cup players with the most goals

01. Winston Reid , Shane Smeltz , Steve Sumner and Steve Wooddin - 1 goal each

Players banned from World Championships

• 2010: Ryan Nelsen received the second yellow card in the last group game . But this had no further effect, since New Zealand was eliminated.

Share of players playing abroad in the World Cup squad

In the first participation, New Zealand only used five legionnaires playing in Australia , in the second participation there were more than half of players playing abroad, but some of them played for second- and third-rate clubs.

Year (games)	Number (countries)	Players (stakes)
1982 (3)	5 (in Australia)	Allan Boath (3), Glenn Dods (2), Steve Sumner (3), Richard Wilson (0), Steve Wooddin (3)
2010 (3)	12 (3 in Australia, 1 in Denmark, 5 in England, 1 Scotland, 2 in the USA)	Jeremy Brockie (1), Glen Moss (0), Shane Smeltz (3); Winston Reid (3); Rory Fallon (3), Chris Killen (3), Ryan Nelsen (3), Tommy Smith (3), Chris Wood (3); Michael McGlinchey (3); Andrew Boyens (0), Jeremy Christie (2)

Games

• New Zealand has played 6 World Cup games so far, none of which have been won, three lost and three ended in a draw.
• New Zealand never met the hosts and eventual world champions, but once (2010) met the defending champions.
• New Zealand met a newcomer to the World Cup once: 2010 / Slovakia .
• All New Zealand World Cup games are unique.
• New Zealand has always played against two European and one South American teams.

All World Cup games
No.	date	opponent	Result	occasion		venue	comment
1	06/15/1982	Scotland	2: 5	1. Final round	*	Málaga ( ESP )	First international match for an OFC member against Scotland
2	06/19/1982	Soviet Union	0: 3	1. Final round	*	Málaga ( ESP )	First international match of an OFC member against the Soviet Union. Only match against the Soviet Union
3	06/23/1982	Brazil	0: 4	1. Final round	*	Seville ( ESP )	First international match by an OFC member against Brazil
4th	06/15/2010	Slovakia	1: 1	Preliminary round	*	Rustenburg ( ZAF )	First international match against Slovakia
5	06/20/2010	Italy	1: 1	Preliminary round	*	Nelspruit ( ZAF )
6th	06/24/2010	Paraguay	0-0	Preliminary round	*	Polokwane ( ZAF )

All three World Cup defeats were the New Zealand team's biggest defeats against these teams:

•  Brazil : 1982 preliminary round 0-4 (also a 0-4 in a friendly)
•  Scotland : Preliminary round 1982 2-5 (only loss to Scotland)
•  Soviet Union : preliminary round 1982 0: 3 (only game against the USSR)

particularities

• Southernmost qualifying venue: Dunedin (New Zealand, March 22, 2013)

Web links

• fifa.com: New Zealand

References and footnotes

1. ↑ The placements from 5th place onwards were determined by FIFA without any placement games. See: All-time FIFA World Cup Ranking 1930–2014 (PDF file; 195 kB)