Fifa U-20 World Cup: World's eyes on NZ as they tackle pro colossus

U-20 All Whites captain Bill Tuiloma. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Team hope rousing home crowd can act as catalyst for upset win in Cup opener.

After two years of battling away in New Zealand's national league, five warm-up matches against international opposition and a week filled with media appointments and Fifa disruptions, the Junior All Whites are finally ready for their moment on the world stage.

New Zealand will kick off Fifa's under-20 tournament against Ukraine today in front of a potential global audience of 200 million and, likely, a sold-out North Harbour Stadium. More than 20,000 tickets have already been sold for the match and the team hope a rousing home crowd will act as the 12th man to propel New Zealand to their first win at an Under-20 World Cup.

The Junior All Whites, who spent two years as the SC Wanderers in New Zealand's national league, have had a disappointing build-up to the tournament, losing four of their five friendly matches, but coach Darren Bazeley said the calibre of opposition they faced has helped them understand the challenge in front of them.

"We try to win every game that we play, so we're obviously never happy with losing, but all of the games we have played have been about building up for this Ukraine game," Bazeley said. "We have played well in patches of each game, now we need to make them longer and more consistent."

Bazeley suggested New Zealand's final pool game against Myanmar might be their best opportunity to get a first win at under-20 level at a Fifa tournament, but must target their first game, too, because their task only gets tougher when they face the United States on Tuesday.

"The reality is that almost every player who has come into this World Cup is a professional footballer," Bazeley said. "And most of the players who have come in are actually playing first-team football within their teams and leagues. Ukraine have five players from Dynamo Kiev and five players from Shakhtar and other players in their top division.

"If you look at our squad, we have some top players and some great potential but we've got only four professional players. And of those four, we haven't really got anyone that's kicked on and is a consistent starting player within their club team."

New Zealand will be led by strong Olympique Marseille midfielder Bill Tuiloma, who is athletic, quick, technically excellent and versatile enough to slot into centre back if needed.

"He's been playing in centre midfield for the All Whites for the last two years and is very comfortable in that position. Sometimes it's best to stick your best players in the middle of the park and get them on the ball affecting the game as much as they can."

Bazeley has spent a lot of time researching today's opponents and said New Zealand were well clued up on their roles and responsibilities to beat them.

"We have five of Ukraine's last games on file and we've done a lot of watching and analysing ... and we have fed that back to our players."