Despite already being written off, the Kiwis have a great chance of securing a place in Brazil as they prepare to take on Mexico.

Thanks to Graham Zusi who scored for the US national side against Panama a few weeks back, Mexico managed to secure fourth place in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers last month. There was relief all across Mexico as the national side had made quite a meal of things during the qualification campaign.
On the other side of the world however, the reaction was viewed with quite indignation.

After qualifying for the intercontinental playoffs against a country from Oceania, the Mexicans seem bullish about their chances of securing a berth for Brazil 2014, something that many Kiwi players have not found impressive at all.

 

"Reading some quotes from their new manager makes it sound like it's just a matter of them turning up for the playoffs and they will be on their way to Brazil, but our squad had an amazing time in South Africa and want to experience another World Cup," said striker Jeremy Brockie.

There was a big reason why Mexico finished fourth in their qualification group and this is reason enough for the Oceania giants to believe in themselves. As the first leg of the tie at the Azteca approaches, memories of New Zealand qualifying for the last edition of the FIFA World Cup become a source of inspiration for Brockie and co when they were considered outsiders in a somewhat similar clash with Bahrain. At that time too, the Kiwis were perceived outsiders before a ball had been kicked.

That even in 2009 was a watershed moment for the national side and if things are taken in to serious consideration, ruling this team out could be a big mistake. The siege approach whenever it comes to playing against prestigious sides has worked for New Zealand till now and this time around, they have a much better team than the one that played ever so well in South Africa three years back.

With a good blend of player from the Australian A-League, there are a few players with sufficient European experience. Moreover, the familiarity within the squad makes it a tough team to break down, a case that was quite evident by their three draws during the group stages of the last World Cup.

The likes of Marco Rojas who represents German outfit VfB Stuttgart and Chris Wood who plays his trade at Leicester City add firepower to the attacking third. And while the loss of Winston Reid (West Ham United) makes things complicated, manager Ricki Herbert has an enthusiastic bunch of players who will be looking to make sure that the loss of their captain does not do any harm to their team’s chances of flying the country’s flag in Brazil next year.

Playing in a capacity crowd of 100,000 at the Azteca is not an easy job and the Mexican fans will make things tough for them. But there will definitely be a tinge of worry as the home fans were left biting their nails till the last minute of the qualification campaign before they were done a favour from the unlikeliest of sources in eternal rivals USA and if Mexico take things too lightly in their subsequent tie against New Zealand, their fans could very well be denied a possibility of seeing their nation at the World Cup in Brazil next year.