Soccer: Oceania-CONCACAF showdown on the cards

All Whites coach Ricki Herbert says the extra qualifying round the team will have to face in trying to get to the 2014 World Cup will have its challenges. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The All Whites will face more matches in the Oceania region and a potential intercontinental playoff against a North or Central American nation to qualify for the 2014 Football World Cup.

The preliminary draws for the tournament were made in Rio de Janeiro early this morning, revealing a longer qualification path for the Oceania Zone winner.

In the 2010 tournament, the All Whites faced fifth-placed Asian Zone team Bahrain over two legs to secure their place in South Africa, but the new qualifying route will see the top Oceania team playing the fourth-best team from CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean) instead.

"It was always going to an interesting draw for the playoffs, and Oceania has now got a different region than we've had in the past," said New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert.

"It'll be a challenge but one New Zealand will relish if we get to that stage.

"Hopefully the dice fall in our favour through qualifying and if you look historically then we're a chance.

"But we've got to get through to that stage first, and we'll make sure we do things right."

New Zealand enter Oceania qualifying at Stage Two, an eight-nation tournament held in Fiji from June 1 to 12 next year.

The winner of that event will qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and the top four teams will progress to a home-and-away round robin series for Oceania's final stage of World Cup qualifying.

New Zealand have drawn Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea in the second of two groups for Stage Two.

Group A comprises Vanuatu, Tahiti, New Caledonia and the winner of a first-round group containing American Samoa, Samoa, Cook Islands and Tonga.

Round One of Oceania qualifying begins in Samoa on November 21.

"The extra round will have its challenges from a time component but we've been good at working through that in the past," said Herbert.

"We know what we need to do and who we're playing and we can start preparing."

2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying - Oceanian Zone

Round One
21-26 November 2011, Samoa

American Samoa
Cook Islands
Samoa
Tonga

The winner of the tournament will advance to Round Two.

Round Two
1-12 June 2012; Fiji

Group A

Vanuatu
New Caledonia
Winner Round 1
Tahiti

Group B

Fiji
New Zealand
Solomon Islands
Papua New Guinea

The winner of round two qualifies for the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013

The four highest-placed teams from Round Two will contest Round Three.

Round Three

* The four Round Three teams will be drawn into a round-robin, home-and-away group.

* The matches are foreseen to take place in the period from 7 September 2012 to 26 March 2013

* The draw date, location, and procedure for Round Three will be confirmed by the end of Round Two by the organising committee for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014.

Intercontinental Playoff

The winner of Oceania Round Three advances to the intercontinental playoff against the fourth placed nation from CONCACAF.

- NZ HERALD STAFF