Unless Raphael Lea'i can produce some magic for the Solomon's, I see no way for New Zealand not to qualify directly

@Morch yes agreed as it stands at the moment it's looking strong for NZ.. Solomon's generally give NZ the biggest push. I wonder what a.new.qualification path/paths will do for motivation levels and investment

Maybe it's tad bit racist?

@Mirek possibly seems so at face value and the name has been discussed at length in New Zealand. Most sources point out that this is unintentional as it refers to the colour of the teams home kit (white shirt and shorts) and aligns with other sports teams nicknames in New Zealand (for example the rugby team nicknamed the All Blacks).

From: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_men%27s_national_football_team

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Nickname

During the qualification for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the team appeared for the first time in an all white uniform against Taiwan in 1981. This led a commentator to dub them the "All Whites", a play on the traditional name "All Blacks" used for the national rugby team. The name stuck, and was popularised in the song "Marching off to Spain" with its chant refrain "Kiwis! All Whites!". More recently, the nickname has been scrutinised by New Zealand Football due to its unintended racial overtones.

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