New Zealand head coach Danny Hay has urged his players to "seize the moment" by producing an upset against Costa Rica to claim the last remaining World Cup finals spot.
The two sides face off at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday for the right to return to Qatar later this year and join Germany, Japan and Spain in Group E.
A total of 31 countries have qualified for the global showpiece following Australia's penalty shoot-out win against Peru on Monday, leaving one place up for grabs.
New Zealand enter the intercontinental play-off clash as underdogs as they sit 101st in the latest FIFA rankings, 70 places below their Central American opponents.
The All Whites cruised through the extended qualifying process, racking up 5-0 and 7-1 wins along the way, but now face undoubtedly their toughest test yet in Costa Rica.
Whereas New Zealand have only ever qualified for two World Cups, and none since 2010, Costa Rica have qualified five times and are seeking a third straight finals appearance.
Hay's side are in a relaxed mood, though, with the 47-year-old glad that all the pressure is on the opposition.
"The world's media have basically written us off, given us no chance," Hay said at his pre-match news conference. "They're 31 in the world playing against 101 in the world.
"I'm sleeping pretty well. I'm not sure their coach will be, though.
"We've got a great group. They're injury-free, they’re in a good space mentally, that’s why we need to seize the moment now. This really is our moment, this is our time."
New Zealand have been boosted by the return to fitness of captain Winston Reid, who had been struggling with a groin injury.
They have warmed up for Tuesday's match with a 1-0 defeat to Peru and goalless draw against Oman, both of those games being friendlies.
Costa Rica have lost just one of their past nine matches, meanwhile, but head coach Luis Fernandez Suarez is not taking New Zealand for granted.
"We'll make sure that the group is strong mentally," he said. "New Zealand are a team that like to make things dangerous.
"They are a team that from the back with their goalkeeper almost always playing inside, from the beginning to the last third, with one of their advantages being aerial football.
"But for every situation or attack New Zealand present, we have prepared something to respond to it."
Shaw, Brown headline 24-member squad called up for Reggae Girlz camp set for June 11-20
Concacaf Women’s Player of the Year, Khadija Shaw, and Florida State’s Jody Brown are among 24 women who were called up for a JFF camp, the federation announced on Saturday.
Shaw is coming off the best season of her career, so far, for Manchester City in which she scored 31 goals in 30 games in all competitions.
Brown has been instrumental in guiding the Seminoles to a 17-3-3 record so far this season.
The players will go into camp from June 11th to June 20th.
The full roster of players and staff is as follows:
Sydney Schneider, Rebecca Spencer, Liya Brooks, Allyson Swaby, Chantelle Swaby, Satara Murray, Konya Plummer, Deneisha Blackwood, Tiernny Wiltshire, Tiffany Cameron, Vyan Sampson, Peyton McNamara, Drew Spence, Atlanta Primus, Khadija Shaw, Jody Brown, Solai Washington, Kameron Simmonds, Kalyssa Van-Zanten, Trudi Carter, Rachel Jones, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Mikayla Dayes, Giselle Washington.
Crystal Walters (Team Manager), Lorne Donaldson (Head Coach), Laurie Thomas (Asst. Coach) Xavier Gilbert (Asst. Coach), Alyssa Whitehead (GK Coach), Sanford Carabin (Performance Analyst), Will Hitzelberger (Performance Staff), Dr. Gillian Lawrence (Team Doctor), Saundria Codling (Physiotherapist), Devin Lawson (Masseur), Omar "Twin" Folkes (Equipment Manager).
Attacking Postecoglou suits Spurs' style, says King
Ange Postecoglou has an attacking style of play that will suit Tottenham ideally, according to club icon Ledley King.
It was confirmed this week that Postecoglou will leave Celtic to take charge of Tottenham on a four-year contract.
The 57-year-old spent two years with the Scottish champions and departs after winning a domestic treble in 2022-23.
Australian Postecoglou will take charge of a Spurs team that struggled to eighth place in the Premier League and will not play in Europe next season.
But King is taking an optimistic stance about what can be achieved under the new Spurs boss.
"He is a very good manager and he had a fantastic time at Celtic," said King, who was speaking to Stats Perform at an exclusive kit launch event for Club and Nike Members held at Alexandra Palace.
"He is a front-foot manager who loves to play attacking football and score plenty of goals and I think he is someone that suits our style. Also, developing young players is really important.
"I'm looking forward to him starting his reign and I think it's important that we sorted it early. He's just finished the [Scottish Cup] final with Celtic and we've been able to get over the line, the deal has been sorted. Now we know what direction we're moving in.
"If I look through our history, we've always had players that want to go on the front foot, express themselves, and score goals – that has just been in the DNA of the football club.
"And, of course, to develop young players. We always have to see players given an opportunity. So I think for these reasons, it'd be a big hit with the fans.
"If you're an attacking player, the thought of that is fantastic. I know that players want to play, they want to play with the ball. They want to be dictating games – that is what players want to do.
"They want to play in a team that is enjoyable to play in and plays good, stylish football. We have a manager that plays that style.
"I'm sure the players are excited and will be looking forward to pre-season."
Conte was sacked in late March, with Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason taking temporary charge.
There was a dismal finish to the season, but King pointed out Tottenham had spent much of the campaign in the battle for a top-four finish and is hopeful there will be a prompt recovery from a disappointing year.
He added: "It was a difficult season. Obviously, there were a lot of different reasons.
"There's a World Cup that came in the middle of the season. Then Conte had a few health issues and he lost a coach during the season.
"So it was not an easy season, but I would say that the team, for most of the season, was in and around the top four.
"It is a talented group and now the new manager coming in has a chance to look at the whole group.
"The players that have been on loan get a chance to impress him and for him he has a chance to see who we can move forward with."
Live – Treble-chasing Manchester City face Inter Milan in Champions League final
1600 – Good afternoon and welcome to the PA news agency’s Champions League final blog. Stay here for all the build-up, key match action and post-game reaction as Manchester City and Inter Milan slog it out in Istanbul.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
