Soccer: Leap in status aids NZ case for World Cup

By TERRY MADDAFORD

New Zealand's leap into the world's top 50 has given them and rivals Australia a helping hand in their chase for a place in the 2006 World Cup.

New Zealand's rise from 88th to 47th in the rankings means the Oceania Football Confederation now has two teams in the top 50.

Australia are ranked one place ahead of New Zealand, which strengthens Oceania's claims for direct entry to the next cup.

In a visit to Auckland this month, Fifa president Sepp Blatter reaffirmed his support for a direct Oceania spot in the final 32 teams in Germany in 2006.

This latest ranking will only harden that resolve.

In releasing their rankings, Fifa tagged New Zealand as the "mover of the month" ahead of Tahiti, who gained 19 places in moving to 111th on the 203-country list.

The ranking system evaluates all matches, taking into account the result, the number of goals, home or away, the importance of the match, the strength of the opponent and regional strength.

Although results over a 12-month period are paramount, Fifa also considers results in the previous seven years.

This allowed New Zealand to drop off several poor results.

At the end of last year New Zealand were 83rd, and they had slipped to 88th by the July rankings.

But this is no time for New Zealand Soccer to sit back and reflect on a job well done.

"Sure, we are over the moon to make such a move," New Zealand Soccer chief executive Bill MacGowan said yesterday.

"But we have to keep moving. We must set our sights even higher. Clearly, we have to play more football.

"The matches we have against Estonia and Poland in October have assumed even greater importance."

Estonia have picked up six places to 77 on the August rankings and Poland, one of the 32 teams at the World Cup finals in Korea and Japan, are up two at 37.

The match against Poland provides a great chance for the All White players to further advance their claims.

By reaching Fifa's top 70 the path for New Zealanders wanting to play in Europe has been made easier.

"For players to get a look in within Europe they have to come from countries ranked in the top 70," MacGowan said.

"With our top-50 ranking, New Zealand players have become a more attractive option for European clubs."

Teams below New Zealand include Chile (50th), China (51st), Ghana (56th), Iran and Scotland (60th equal) and Hungary (71st).