The All Whites, whose only appearance in a World Cup came way back in 1982, were handed a fair challenge for next year's competition after being drawn in Group A alongside hosts South Africa, Asian champions Iraq and European champions Spain.

The Oceania title-holders will play against the Spaniards in their opening game in Rustenburg on June 14, but Van Hattum is not fazed.

"We have a team ready to compete in the FIFA Confederations Cup," the chairman of New Zealand Football (NZF) said.

"Yes, we know we will be the underdog, but football is such a beautiful game where sometimes the underdog comes through.

"Goals will be very important, so each game we aim to be competitive. But we are quite confident that we can compete and that we will do a very, very good job in keeping the other teams honest."

New Zealand are just two matches away from a return to the top company of international football, with a two-legged play-off against a team from the Asian Football Confederation next November all that separates them from a place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Van Hattum continued: "All of our players are professionals, playing in Europe or in the US. So we're confident that we will be ready.

"We have a big qualification for the World Cup in November next year, so we will have a solid build-up right through the year."