On the eve of their pre-World Cup friendly at the Melbourne Cricket Ground - scene of Trevor Chappell's infamous underarm cricket delivery in 1981 - the All Whites and Socceroos management convened a mutual admiration society yesterday, where they identified Slovakia and Germany respectively as the real enemy.
Transtasman football rivalry revolves around the Wellington Phoenix's presence in the A-League since Australia aligned to Fifa's Asian confederation, diminishing an international rivalry that dates back to 1922.
And although tonight's farewell for the Socceroos offers New Zealand a rare opportunity to embarrass a team ranked 58 places higher on the world rankings, coach Ricki Herbert and captain Ryan Nelsen preferred to class it as the first stage of their World Cup campaign.
Striker Rory Fallon successfully antagonised the Socceroos before leaving Auckland when insisting New Zealand could not treat any match with Australia as a "friendly" and that injuries were possible.
But there was no fighting talk from Blackburn's defensive rock, Nelsen, while Herbert, a combative defender in the 1982 cup campaign, was also mellow before the All Whites' final training session at the MCG.
Herbert even thanked Football Federation Australia for the "opportunity" for New Zealand to play its first game against Australia since 2005.
"In the context of both of us going to the World Cup it's a really fitting opportunity for the nations to come together," he said.
While victory would be a boost before facing Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay at the World Cup, Herbert was more interested in honing combinations given New Zealand's supposed top side has not played since confirming its cup place with a 1-0 defeat of Bahrain on November 14.
"There'll be mistakes [against Australia] and we can work on those as we lead towards the World Cup," he said.
"If we take a few hits along the way we can deal with that. We want to be right by Slovakia [on June 15]."
Herbert has predictably persevered with the players that secured New Zealand's passage to the World Cup, selecting the starting line-up that battled to a 0-0 draw with Bahrain in the Middle East last October, so there is just one change from the 11 that took the field for the 1-0 return leg victory in Wellington.
Experienced midfielder Simon Elliot, who was unavailable through injury in the capital, replaces Michael McGlinchy, who will be among the reserves.
Uncapped defender Winston Reid is poised to make his international debut alongside the squad's other newcomer, Canterbury midfielder Aaron Clapham.
Herbert is able to make six substitutions through the course of the match, so Scottish-raised defender Tommy Smith, who debuted in the March friendly against Mexico in California, is also in line for game time.
Teenage striker Chris Wood (18) also waits in the wings as Herbert retains a forward line of Shane Smeltz, Chris Killen, and Fallon.
Australia's Dutch-born coach Pim Verbeek has similar expectations to Herbert.
"The training sessions we've had are as important as the game. I don't expect them to be at their best now. I expect them to be at their best when they play Germany [June 14]."
Australia has been weakened by the unavailability of strikers Harry Kewell and Josh Kennedy (groin), while veteran goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer sprained a thumb during training.
Adam Federici is expected to make his debut in goal, while fullback Scott Chipperfield will be rested after FC Basel's double-winning exploits in Switzerland.
Midfielders Rhys Williams and Richard Garcia are also unavailable through injury, though Verbeek has plenty of options in a 31-man preliminary squad eager to impress before the travelling 23 are named on June 1.
New Zealand is an $11 outsider for the match on the New Zealand TAB. Australia is a $1.33 favourite.
Possible teams: Australia (likely): Adam Federici, Luke Wilkshire, Lucas Neill (captain), Craig Moore, David Carney, Jason Culina, Vince Grella, Brett Emerton, Mark Breschiano, Tim Cahill, Scott McDonald.
New Zealand: Mark Paston, Ivan Vicelich, Ryan Nelsen (captain), Ben Sigmund, Tim Brown, Simon Elliott, Leo Bertos, Tony Lochhead, Shane Smeltz, Chris Killen, Rory Fallon.
The game kicks off at 9.30pm (NZT).
