KEY POINTS:
BEIJING - Coach John Herdman's confidence shows no sign of abating as he and his New Zealand women's soccer team contemplate the toughest conceivable challenge tonight to keep their Olympic hopes alive.
New Zealand must beat world No 1 the United States in Shenyang to ensure a spot in the quarterfinals. A draw would provide a mathematical, if unlikely, shot at advancing.
After promising performances against two top-10 nations - a 2-2 draw against world number 10 Japan and a narrow 0-1 loss to fifth-ranked Norway - the world number 24-ranked Football Ferns must lift to another level if they are to become the first New Zealand team to reach the quarterfinals of a FIFA tournament.
"It doesn't matter if it's the best team or the worst team in the competition; it's time to let other teams start worrying about us," Herdman said.
"Our destiny is in our own hands, and if we're in the next round anything can happen."
Herdman's unabashed belief in his young team is a far cry shows how far they have come from the last time the Football Ferns met the USA.
A year ago to the day, in a match the Americans used to experiment with combinations, formations and scenarios, New Zealand were hammered 1-6 in Chicago, with Abby Wambach scoring twice.
While few would argue that New Zealand is a different team now, the loss of 99-goal Wambach to a pre-Olympic broken leg, and the USA's opening loss to Norway suggests that the gap may have been bridged from both sides.
"They're still a dangerous team and when they click, they click, but speaking to their coaches the other day, they just don't know where the goals will come from," Herdman said.
"They've been pretty predictable with their tactics and while they've been getting occasional joy from them, if we set up in the right way we can nullify their threats."
Winger Ali Riley is the only injury concern in an otherwise fully fit New Zealand squad.
The Stanford University winger has been receiving treatment on a hip injury throughout the tournament and faces a fitness test before kickoff.
New Zealand (from)
Jenny Bindon, Ria Percival, Anna Green, Katie Hoyle, Abby Erceg, Rebecca Smith, Alexandra Riley, Hayley Moorwood, Amber Hearn, Emily McColl, Kirsty Yallop, Merissa Smith, Rebecca Tegg, Kristy Hill, Emma Kete, Renee Leota, Marlies Oostdam, Rachel Howard
United States (from)
Hope Solo, Heather Mitts, C hristie Rampone, Rachel Buehler, Lindsay Tarpley, Natasha Kai, Shannon Boxx, Amy Rodriguez, Heather O'Reilly, Aly Wagner, Carli Lloyd, Lauren Cheney, Tobin Heath, Stephanie Cox, Kate Markgraf, Angela Hucles, Lori Chalupny, Nicole Barnhart
- NZPA
