Qualifying for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil will be much harder for New Zealand than four years ago because of the different path they face, All Whites coach Ricki Herbert says.
The All Whites, who made the 2010 finals after a 1-0 aggregate victory over fifth-placed Asian side Bahrain, have sealed a November playoff against the fourth placed team in the North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) conference having wrapped up the Oceania qualifying spot in March.
Herbert expected either Honduras or Panama to finish fourth, though regional heavyweights Mexico are also potential opponents having lurched through the six-team final stage of qualifying with five draws and just one win, they are third behind the United States and Costa Rica.
Herbert said having enough time with the squad would again prove to be a challenge as his players flew in from all corners of the world.
Also dealing with passionate local fans who are known to chant outside visiting team's hotels at night in order to keep them awake before matches.
The All Whites have also been further hamstrung having not played a match since they beat the Solomon Islands 2-0 in Honiara in late March, having failed to make the Confederations Cup in Brazil after they were upset in last year's Oceania Nations Cup.
They also were unable to organise a match in FIFA's international window next week, though Herbert said they were in the final stages of confirming matches in the September and October windows.
They were likely to play sides from the Asian confederation in September then face CONCACAF teams in October and those four matches would be crucial to him testing combinations he would be comfortable with in the qualifiers.
Herbert was keen to give young strikers Marco Rojas and Kosta Barbarouses a chance to lead the line with Leicester City's Chris Wood, while he was also intent on finding another attacking midfielder to help Michael McGlinchey.
Defensively, he felt the team was sound, with new captain Winston Reid and Tommy Smith anchoring the central defence after the retirement earlier this year of talisman Ryan Nelsen.
