"I thought we played really well in all four games, we were just so much better organised than anybody else, "he said.
Asking Higham to reflect on the refereeing standards, however, and the response is somewhat less enthusiastic. "Quite honestly you had to see it to believe it, there were a lot of rather interesting decisions. Personally I've never seen anything like it in my life."
The draw for Turkey sees the Junior All Whites meeting Uzbekistan on June 24, Uruguay on June 27 and Croatia on June 30 and, while Higham admits to knowing little about the composition or capability of any of those sides, he has enough confidence in his own team to suggest they have every chance of progressing to the next stage of the World Cup
"You get to this level and there are no easy games but we're in good shape and I think we will be hard to beat," he said.
His commitments with the Junior All Whites have meant Higham has only attended a couple of Wairarapa United trainings so far this season but he is willing to predict they will be challenging hard for what would be their first Central League title come the end of the 2013 season.
"There is no doubt we have the team to pull it off and I have a feeling this might just be our year," he said. "It's about time we went all the way, isn't it?"
Indications are Wairarapa United will be able to field a full strength side for Sunday's Central League opener against Tawa at Howard Booth Park in Carterton. There were some fears that goalkeeper Matt Borren and defender Esava Raqeleca could be sidelined through injury but coach Phil Keinzley reported yesterday that both had recovered well and would be available for selection.
Meanwhile, four Wairarapa teams will kick off their Capital Football campaigns on Saturday. Douglas Villa is in division two and will play Western Suburbs at Endeavour Park while Wairarapa United seconds, White Swan Greytown and Gardner's Electrical Masterton are all in division three.
Greytown, which are making their debut at this level, will be at home to Waterside Karori, Wairarapa United seconds are away to Wainuiomata and Masterton are away to Petone.