The fifth placed asian team
1. South Korea
2. Oz
3. Japan
4. Iran
5. Saudia Arabia who will then play NZ in playoff!
But we play south america man!?
But we play south america man!?
1. South Korea
2. Japan
3. Australia
4. China
5. New Zealand (after beating Iran in the play-offs by a ridiculously large amount of goals.
But we play south america man!?
New Zealand Soccer would welcome the chance to qualify for future World Cups via Asia, chief executive Graham Seatter said on Monday.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter earmarked the re-paved qualifying path before the final of the Club World Championship in Japan.
Oceania's champion currently faces a daunting World Cup playoff against the fifth-placed South American qualifier, a route Australia conquered last month when they upset Uruguay on penalties to reach Germany 06.
But Australia's pending departure to the Asian Football Confederation has brought Oceania's World Cup path into the spotlight.
Blatter said Oceania could be incorporated into the final stage of the Asian qualifying process, boosting Asia's World Cup allocation by half a place to five teams.
That is NZ Soccer's ideal scenario as it would guarantee the All Whites meaningful home and away matches and a slice of a significant broadcasting rights pie.
"We're very supportive of it," Seatter said of Blatter's World Cup call for Oceania.
"We see Asia as a much better proposition than South America. Firstly, as a country, we're more aligned to Asia. Secondly it's probably an easier path and thirdly, it's the path we took to [Spain] in 82 and one we'd like to take again."
While a spot in Asia's final eight holds most appeal, Seatter said NZ Soccer would also gladly accept their playoff being switched from South America to Asia's fifth best team.
"Our big beef at the moment is that all our matches have to be friendlies which you have trouble securing your best players for and can't get broadcasting rights for," he said.
"This way we'd get meaningful games against very high level opposition that would bring in broadcasting rights.
"Even if we didn't qualify for the World Cup, we'd get great competition as opposed to two games [against South American opposition] which we struggle to prepare for."
Blatter stressed that Fifa's executive committee had yet to reach a decision on Oceania.
CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean) are likely to oppose the change as it would likely see their playoff shift to South America. Trinidad and Tobago qualified for next year's World Cup in Germany by beating Asia's fifth placed team, Bahrain, 2-1 on aggregate last month.
But Seatter is at least buoyed by Blatter's comments.
"It's encouraging the Fifa president has suggested it&if he supports it, it clearly helps," Seatter said.
"Asia are also very supportive. Their view is they already have Australia, they might as well have everything including Oceania's half-place."