KEY POINTS:
It's been a long time since the national men's team has entered a major hockey tournament with such confidence - their first two matches will determine whether that confidence is misplaced.
New Zealand plays Korea tomorrow, ranked higher in the world but targeted as a must-win match. Next
up is world powerhouse Spain, on Wednesday night. Two losses and New Zealand might as well start clearing their things out of the village.
"If we knock one, if not two, of them off, then we're right in the mix," said defender and drag-flick specialist Hayden Shaw. "It's huge for us."
Also lurking are perennial challengers Germany, New Zealand's final pool match.
While it might seem a stacked draw, New Zealand can comfort themselves in the fact they have avoided Australia and Netherlands, two sides dripping with talent.
"It's a tough pool but it gives us a good chance of progressing because if we want to medal we've got to beat the best teams," Shaw said. "We've got three teams ranked ahead of us in our pool and we can beat them."
They can, that is true. On their day New Zealand have proven they can beat any side. Their major problem was stringing enough of those days together in a tournament, where consistency and fitness count as much as inspiration.
"The background of our team is we haven't had the consistency to back up the talent we've got. But that's why we're confident this time. We're now starting to apply that consistency."
That was best demonstrated in the brutal winner-takes-all qualifying tournament in Auckland this year, New Zealand denying favoured Argentina in extra time thanks to a last-gasp winner from an unlikely source, Shaw's younger brother Bradley. Shaw the Elder, 27, got a kick out of that, saying it helped Shaw the Younger, 25, climb out of his shadow.
No doubt, though, where the spotlight will shine when New Zealand are awarded a penalty corner.
Shaw knows, coach Shane McLeod knows, hell, the whole hockey world knows New Zealand's hopes hinge on the split second it takes for him to propel a hockey ball at frightening velocity into the corner of the goal from the set piece.
Pressure? Nah.
"I love it; that's why I play top sport. I love pressure. Whether I fail or succeed I just get a buzz out of being in that situation where it's on me to win the game," Shaw says, a beatific smile breaking the usual sportsman's mask. "I hope there's a number of situations in this tournament where that could happen."
The women begin their campaign against Japan today in what would also be a must-win match if they want to progress out of their pool.
