History
New Zealand have appeared at the World Cup just once. Their qualification for the 1982 World Cup was considered as one of the country’s most famous sporting achievements. Featuring a teenage Wynton Rufer, who went on to become New Zealand’s most well-known player, the All Whites lost all three matches at Spain, but were not disgraced in a high-quality group featuring Brazil, Soviet Union and Scotland.

Qualification
When FIFA decided to move Australia into the Asian Federation’s World Cup qualification arena, life got a lot easier for New Zealand. The All Whites are top dogs in the Oceania Federation. When your main rivals turn out to be the tiny New Caledonian islands (population under 250K), then the play-offs beckon. Ryan Nelson and his team duly obliged, the only hiccup being a weakened side’s 2-0 defeat to Fiji after they had already confirmed top spot. Bahrain offered a real test though, having come through a rigorous three stage qualification process. They had finished third behind Australia and Japan in Asian Qualifying Round Four, before beating Saudi Arabia over two legs to reach that point. Bahrain were also ranked 61st by FIFA, compared to New Zealand’s 83rd, and had narrowly missed out on reaching Germany in 2006. The first leg finished 0-0 in Manama so New Zealand couldn’t concede in the return in Wellington’s ‘Cake Tin’. It was nerve-wracking stuff as Plymouth’s Rory Fallon put the All Whites ahead with Celtic striker Chris Killen hitting the bar in the first half. Bahrain hit back, earning a penalty that Mark Paston famously saved in the 50th minute. They also had the ball in the net only to see it disallowed for an earlier offence, but the Kiwis hung on to make history.

Prospects
The only time New Zealand previously reached the World Cup finals, in 1982, they lost all three group games, conceding 12 goals. They will do better this time but will find points hard to come by. They scared an under-strength Italy in a friendly last summer, going ahead three times before being beaten 4-3, but are unlikely to repeat that level of performance on the biggest stage in world football. Both Paraguay and Slovakia have won through tough qualifying groups and have learnt to sneak results in tight games. Any side with Ryan Nelsen skippering it will be well organised defensively but 12 of New Zealand’s 18-strong Bahrain squad are based in the Australasian A-League. They do have strength up front with Rory Fallon, Chris Killen and Shane Smeltz, and may cause difficulties for their Group F opponents, but they are unlikely to make it out of the group.