New coach Jitka Klimkova has a chance to consolidate her Football Ferns reign, with the national women's team confirmed to face Korea Republic later this month.
In two months since her appointment, Klimkova has quickly stamped her mark on the NZ women's programme, guiding them to a series defeat against Olympic champions Canada.
Last month, the Ferns fell 5-1 in her debut at the helm, but rallied admirably to lose 1-0 in the return fixture three days later.
The 19th-ranked Koreans offer a more realistic measure of the task ahead, as New Zealand prepare for a home World Cup tournament in two years.
"It's a great opportunity to build on the work and progress we made last month," says Klimkova. "Our time in Canada was important for connecting as a group and setting the direction for the team - how we want to play, focusing on developing a more attacking mindset within the group.
"I was really proud of the improvements and progress we made over those 10 days. I'm excited to see how this series against Korea Republic will allow us to continue to develop what we have begun and build to 2023."
While the Kiwis faced Canada, the South Koreans played a two-game series against reigning World Cup champions United States, drawing 0-0 and losing 6-0.
They have qualified for the last two World Cup tournaments, but missed out on the Tokyo Olympics.
In 11 previous encounters since 1995, New Zealand have won just once, drawing five. Their last meeting saw South Korea prevail 2-0 at the 2019 Cup of Nations in Melbourne.
The two NZ v Korea Republic fixtures have been scheduled for November 27 and 30 at Goyang.
