New Zealand will face Spain, Germany and Japan at November’s FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar if the All Whites can get past Costa Rica in their sudden-death inter-confederation play-off.
This is after the draw for the final was made by FIFA following their congress in Qatar on Saturday April 2 (NZT).
Spain and Germany are former world champions.
New Zealand meet Costa Rica in their play-off in mid-June to take one of three remaining places among the 32 nations that will compete at the finals.
All Whites move up rankings
For the seeding of teams in the draw, FIFA updated their world rankings list to include games played in the most recent international window, including New Zealand’s five-win run at the Oceania FIFA World Cup qualifiers in March.
As a result, the All Whites move to 101st from 111. This makes them the lowest-ranked side included in the finals draw.
Their play-off opponents, Costa Rica, who moved from 62nd to 31st.
If New Zealand reach the finals, their opponents’ rankings are Spain (7), Germany (12) and Japan (23).
World Cup finals groups
Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
Group B: England, Iran, United States, Scotland/Ukraine/Wales
Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Group D: France, Australia/United Arab Emirates/Peru, Denmark, Tunisia
Group E: Spain, Costa Rica/New Zealand, Germany, Japan
Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
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