Winston Reid will be 29, the ideal age for a central defender, while Chris Wood and Tommy Smith will be seasoned professionals in England. Marco Rojas will be 26, with (hopefully) seasons of Bundesliga football behind him and Tim Payne might be established at Blackburn.
Then there are the young guns; how good could Bill Tuiloma be in four years with good coaching, hard work and application? Storm Roux, Louis Fenton and Thomas are also full of promise.
"It is encouraging," says All Whites captain Tommy Smith. "There was a lot of young potential out there in Wellington with Bill [Tuiloma], Storm [Roux] and Louis [Fenton] ... really talented boys. It is up to them now to go back to their clubs, work hard and force their way on to the international scene."
Smith's point is a crucial one. Over the past two decades, many young New Zealand footballers have been hailed as the next big thing as they sign with a European club, only to be released after a year or two and slip back down the ladder.
Remember Jack Pelter (Sunderland), James Musa (Fulham), Cameron Lindsay (Blackburn), Andrew Milne (Rangers) and Luke Rowe (Birmingham)?
Gaining a contract is just the first step. Look at Chris James. He was a highly rated prospect at Fulham in the mid-2000s but, after a number of transfers, was playing semi-professional football in Sydney by 2010.
"There was an end of a cycle when players like Ryan [Nelsen] and Simon [Elliott] retired and moved on," says James. "We have missed those players - now it is a recycle system; two of the best players last Wednesday were Storm [Roux] and Bill [Tuiloma]. We have got the players to make another World Cup over the next four years, it is just whether they put in place a programme that allows us to do that, as well as the right coach."