KEY POINTS:
If rankings are anything to go by, the All Whites have little chance in the upcoming Oceania World Cup qualifiers.
Incredibly - and this shows how much of a nonsense the Fifa world rankings are - they are the lowest of the four teams taking part.
Ranked sixth in Oceania, they are even below Samoa, whose biggest claim to fame is the fact Socceroo Tim Cahill once played for the Samoan under-20 side as a 14-year-old.
Fiji top the quartet at 119, New Caledonia are 124th and Vanuatu 133rd, while New Zealand are a lowly 156 (out of 208). It is New Zealand's lowest position since the flawed system was introduced in 1993 and a far cry from a high of 47 in 2002.
Despite this seemingly disastrous position, the All Whites should win the Oceania qualifiers and face the fifth-best Asian nation in a home and away playoff for a spot at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. They should be too organised, too driven and simply too good to miss out this time.
The All Whites begin their campaign against Fiji in Auckland on Saturday and there are a number of reasons why they should be confident.
The home and away format being used will benefit them because New Zealand's players travel better than their island counterparts.
It will also allow coach Ricki Herbert to build into a campaign, take stock of results and consistently play his best side, injuries permitting.
Of course, New Zealand need to look back only three years to see they don't always do well in tournaments.
If any lesson came from New Zealand's exit three years ago, when they were eliminated after a 4-2 loss to Vanuatu, it was not to underestimate the island nations any more.
Overconfidence is dangerous, particularly when it borders on arrogance. Before that defeat to Vanuatu, the All Whites had only ever lost one World Cup qualifier to an island team, a 1-0 upset by Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby in 1997.
One of the outcomes of 2004 was a determination by the new regime at New Zealand Football for the All Whites to be more active. After two dormant years, they played 11 games in 2006 and another three this year.
While results have been hard to come by, Herbert has experimented and built some depth. As many as 13 of the 18-man squad to face Fiji are full-time professionals.
Fiji have one professional player, striker Esala Masi, who played for Newcastle in the old NSL, but he is out with a knee injury. A large proportion of the Fijian squad are semi-professional and play for the powerful Ba side. One advantage they have over New Zealand is that they train and play together most days.
Fiji's strength is up front, with the likes of Osea Vakatalesau, a player Shane Rufer is trying to lure to Manawatu, and precocious youngster Roy Krishna, who has joined Waitakere.
They will also be tough, physical and well drilled by firebrand coach Carlos Buzzetti, who was in charge of Vanuatu in 2004. They will probably be New Zealand's most dangerous opponent.
New Caledonia are a disciplined side in the mould of coach Didier Chamberon but might find it difficult over a protracted campaign to recapture the spirit they created when winning the South Pacific Games title.
Most of their play comes through gifted central midfielder Pierre Wajoka and, while they have a couple of other talented players, their O-League sides have shown they don't travel well.
Vanuatu didn't expect to progress this far and simply sought respectability at the South Pacific Games. They have some gifted players, like Seule Soromon and Francois Sakama, but are seen as a little brittle.
Little should be read into the rankings. The reason for Fiji's rapid rise and New Zealand's fall is the fact the island nations have played 'meaningful' matches of late. Fiji jumped 51 places after the South Pacific Games but the fact one result was a 16-0 thumping of Tuvalu might suggest some games weren't that meaningful. In contrast, New Zealand haven't played a 'meaningful' fixture since 2004, despite meeting the likes of Brazil, Hungary, Chile and Wales.
Fijians don't seem to be reading much into the rankings. A poll on the country's official website found 85 per cent of 700 respondents didn't think they could beat New Zealand. It's up to the All Whites to make sure they don't.
