A loss to England this morning would leave the team on six competition points at the conclusion of pool play on the Gold Coast.
That leaves a three-way tie for second place with Malawi and Uganda a very real possibility.
Both have one win — two points — each, with Malawi stunning New Zealand on Sunday night and Uganda edging Malawi on Saturday.
The two sides beat Scotland and Wales respectively last night.
They then switch opponents today.
If both win today and the Silver Ferns lose, they will all be left on six points. In that case, goal average — a team’s goals for and goals against — decides who advances to the semifinals.
That leaves New Zealand in a favourable position with an average of 1.36, above Uganda on 1.09 and Malawi on 0.90.
If there is a tie on goal average, head-to-head results are the next decider.
That would become a factor only if Uganda or Malawi lost one of its final two games, as all three teams had a win and loss against each other.
However, if Uganda lost one of its last two games, Malawi would have the edge over New Zealand, having beaten it.
If Malawi lost, New Zealand has one-up on Uganda, having won against it in their opening match.
In the case of the three-way tie, goal difference — goals for minus goals against — will then be used to separate the teams.
If they are still tied, the team that has scored the most goals will finish higher.
The easiest path through for the Silver Ferns would be to beat England in their match, which begins at 11am (NZT) today.
England has confirmed a semifinal spot, having won all four games so far.
In the other pool, Australia and Jamaica are both unbeaten and have clinched semifinal berths.
They will play each other for the first and second placings tonight.
