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All white on the night? New Zealand a rank outsider at Confed CupPosted: Monday June 16, 2003 11:53 AMPARIS (AP) -- Less famous than the All Blacks rugby team, the New Zealand All Whites arrive at the Confederations Cup as rank outsiders. New Zealand, No. 51 on the FIFA world ranking list, faces a tough task in seeking to qualify from Group A, which contains defending champion France, Colombia and Japan, which it faces in Wednesday's Confederations Cup opener. The All Whites then play South American champion Colombia in Lyon on Friday, before returning to the national stadium in Saint Denis to face hosts and European champion France in a night match on Sunday. Several of New Zealand's 23-man squad play in a smattering of European leagues, including Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and England. The remainder feature largely in Australia and in America's Major Soccer League. Of the players based in Europe, only midfielder Ivan Vicelich plays in a top division. He has been with first division Dutch side Roda JC since 2000 -- distinguishing himself as a hardworking, touch-tackling ball-winner. Vicelich, 27, has won 45 caps for the All Whites, scoring five times. The team's leading scorer is veteran striker Vaughan Coveny who, since making his debut against Fiji in 1992, has notched 22 times in 62 appearances. Coveny scored in New Zealand's 2-1 loss to the United States on June 8. Partnering him in attack is 21-year-old Chris Killen, who plies his trade with English second division side Oldham Athletic. Killen is proving a useful player at international level and has already scored 13 times in 19 games -- a fine strike-rate by any standards. This season Killen -- a former trainee with Manchester City -- managed four goals in 15 starts for promotion-chasing Oldham where he made an additional 19 appearances as a substitute. New Zealand is making its second Confederations Cup appearance and qualifies for the tournament as Oceanic champions, after beating Australia. The All Whites lost all three matches in the 1999 Confederations Cup in Mexico. New Zealand is a young, up-and-coming team with a handful of players still playing at an amateur level. The country's only World Cup appearance was in 1982 in Spain -- where it lost in the group stages to Scotland, the U.S.S.R. and Brazil and conceded 12 goals for only two scored. In the 4-0 loss to Brazil some 20 years ago, legendary Brazil striker Zico scored twice. Zico will look to inflict further misery on New Zealand on June 18 -- he is now coach of Japan.
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