Blackcaps bowler Trent Boult says New Zealand need to take control of their own fate and beat England in their final Cricket World Cup match in Newcastle, before the semi-finals.
A win over England would secure the Blackcaps a spot in the final four, but if they lose, their fate may come down to run-rate with Pakistan, who face Bangladesh on Friday.
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The Blackcaps were praying India beat England on Monday, as that would have secured them a spot in the semi-finals, but a century knock from Jonny Bairstow propelled the hosts to a 31-run win.
The result keeps the race for the semi-finals wide open, with five teams in the running for three spots - and Australia the only team to have qualified so far.
Boult told The AM Show that they were treating the England match as a "must-win".
"You don't want to leave it in other teams' hands and needing results to go your way, so it's a simple task for us to settle into Newcastle and it's a must-win in my opinion," he said from Newcastle.
"It was a big game for England today against one of the best sides in the world. They executed their plan and put runs on the board, and bowled exceptionally well.
"That is step one of their job done and now they have to get over us on Wednesday. It's a good way to come into the back end of the tournament and it's going to be fun."
The Blackcaps have lost their last two games against Australia and Pakistan, and Boult insists they've taken their learning's from the losses.
"When you compete in a tournament like this with nine quality sides, you're going to have ebbs and flows, and ups and downs.
"It would be naive of us to think we could come through this tournament and play the perfect game every time, and win every match, so they learn more when you lose.
"Obviously, we have a big job coming up in a couple of days and then hopefully some dream-come-true in a few days."
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