New Zealand National Football Team

The New Zealand national football team, nicknamed the All Whites, is the national association football 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 Europe, the United States, and Australia.

New Zealand formerly battled Australia for top honours in the OFC. However, this is no longer the case as Australia now play in the Asian Football Confederation. New Zealand have won the OFC Nations Cup four times, in 1973, 1998, 2002 and 2008. 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.




Competitive Record

OFC and FIFA tournament participation
New Zealand has competed in one FIFA World Cup Spain 1982 and in two Confederations Cups Mexico 1999 and France 2003. In each of these tournaments, the All Whites have failed to progress past the first round. New Zealand has also qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, and have the opportunity to compete in the World Cup the next year should they defeat the 5th-placed AFC nation.

New Zealand have competed in every OFC Nations Cup since the tournament was established in 1973, when New Zealand both hosted and won the competition. The All Whites have won the Nations Cup four times, including the most recent tournament (2008 OFC Nations Cup)

FIFA World Cup record
1982 - Round 1

FIFA Confederations Cup
1999 - Round 1
2003 - Round 1
2009 - Round 1

OFC Nations' Cup
1973 - Winner
1980 - Round 1
1996 - Third Place (shared)
1998 - Winner
2000 - Runner Up
2002 - Winner
2004 - Final Stage
2008 - Winner