New Zealand Soccer

World Cup
Participation 1 (for the first time in 1982)
Best result Phase, 1982
Oceania Cup
Participation 7 (first)
Best result Champions, 1973, 1998, 2002, 2008

Football Association of New Zealand, belongs to the Oceania Football Confederation.

Football is a sport that is not very popular in New Zealand, unlike rugby, the national sport. The nickname, the All Whites, is a reference to the rugby team the All Blacks. New Zealand is now the largest team of its confederation, to be the only ranked team that has any chance in the World Cup. In 1982 they participated in the tournament held in Spain, facing Brazil (0:4), Scotland (2:5) and the Soviet Union (0:3), finishing in 23rd place.

Proclaimed champions of the Oceania Cup four times, in 1973, 1998, 2002 and 2008.

Football is not very popular in New Zealand, unlike the rugby (the national sport) and cricket, which it tries to compete with for funding and for appearing in the media. The performance of the selection is hampered by a national youth league and Football Championship New Zealand, established in 2004. However, New Zealanders are represented in professional football for the Wellington Phoenix FC, competing in the A-League in Australia.

Its only participation in a World Cup was in Spain in 1982 and three times in the Confederations Cup: Mexico 1999, France 2003 and South Africa 2009.

Oceania Cup

The All Whites competed in all editions of the Oceania Cup since it was created in 1973 when New Zealand hosted and won the competition. This victory was repeated on three subsequent occasions: in 1998, 2002 and 2008.

General result: 2nd place

* 1973 – Champion
* 1980 – Final – 2nd place
* 1996 – Final – 2nd place
* 1998 – Champion
* 2000 – Final – 2nd place
* 2002 – Champion
* 2004 – Semifinals – 3rd place
* 2008 – Champion

Players

NZ’s most famous players are the Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Nelsen and Celtic FC striker Chris Killen. Some pledges future of football is the New Zealand midfielder Chris James’s Tampere United and North Queensland Fury striker Jeremy Brockie.