A win over world No 8 France in tomorrow's bronze medal match at the Cyprus Women's Cup will see the Football Ferns closing in on their highest Fifa ranking.
The New Zealand women have given themselves that chance following their 2-0 win over the 17th-ranked Netherlands in their last pool
match yesterday.
That win, the first by a New Zealand women's team over a top-20 side since a 1-0 win over Canada in 1987, edged the Ferns into second place behind Canada in group B and set up the play-off in Nicosia (1am tomorrow NZ time) against France, the highest-rated team at the tournament, who finished second behind England in group A.
The Dutch went into the tournament with a solid record, having played seven matches without conceding a goal.
They held New Zealand scoreless in the first half but that deadlock was broken in the 51st minute when Amber Hearn scored from the penalty spot after striker Emma Kete had been brought down. Hearn was ordered to retake after her first [successful] attempt was ruled out when the referee ruled a teammate had encroached.
The victory was sealed 15 minutes from time when Kirsty Yallop fired a powerful freekick over the Dutch wall for 2-0.
"It's a watershed moment for this team," said beaming coach John Herdman. "To scalp a second-tier team for the first time is huge for us. Once you've got that experience you can always draw on it."
Hearn, looking ahead to the third place play-off, mirrored the view of her teammates: "If we can play like we did today, we're confident against any side."
New Zealand went into the tournament ranked 24th in the world and a few points behind South Korea (23) and Mexico (22).
A win against the tournament favourites could catapult them into 21st place - ahead of their previous highest of 22 since the Fifa rankings were introduced in 2003.
Canada will play England in the final. Both have two-win, one-draw records but England, with 11 goals, have a vastly superior scoring record.
