Costa Rica are all that stand in the New Zealand's way for a ticket to the FIFA World Cup this year.
The two sides will meet in a one-off qualifying match in June, different to the two-legged home and away format seen in previous years, and pundits predict the new qualification system could just play into the All Whites' hands.
Costa Rica's 2-0 has win over the USA secured a date with Kiwis, with the winners progressing to Qatar 2022.
"One thing we have noticed is the improvements they've made over the course of qualifying," All Whites manager Danny Hay said. "They've ended their campaign really strongly."
The All Whites also finished their qualification on a high by thrashing the Solomon Islands 5-0 at Thursday's Oceania tournament final, but they're under no illusion, Costa Rica will be a step up.
"We are certainly not going to be underestimating Costa Rica," Hay added. "That being said, this is a young team, but we have a lot of experience in key areas.
"We are potentially 90 minutes away from making a World Cup and that's bloody exciting."
In the All Whites' favour is they avoid having to play in front of the hostile environment in Costa Rica, with qualifying to be decided at a neutral venue. That's something experts see as an advantage for New Zealand.
"We don't have the All Whites looking at that sort of experience," said former All Whites goalkeeper Jacob Spoonley. "It's going to be crammed into 90 minutes of confrontation."
And Costa Rica are opponents Spoonley says New Zealand shouldn't be scared of.
"There is nothing to fear with Costa Rica," he added. "This is absolutely not an impossible task, but getting to a World Cup is never easy."
The team are increasingly optimistic they can do just that.
"The strength and depth of the playing group is now the best I've ever been a part of," says defender Tommy Smith. "The competition for places is immense - nobody is guaranteed a spot in that starting XI.
This group is hoping to do something only two All Whites teams have ever done - make it all the way to the big dance.
