For many of the more than 25,000 fans that packed the stands at Eden Park on Monday night to witness the All Whites qualify for next year's Football World Cup with 3-0 victory over New Caledonia , this one was a long time coming.
Fans had been waiting 15 years since New Zealand's last World Cup appearance and for many they still rated that South Africa campaign in 2010 as a highlight of their life.
- Look back at how the match unfolded with 's liveblog
After three failed world cup qualification campaigns since the New Zealand were last on football's biggest stage, it was also a relief for some of the side's veteran players that they got the job done.
Defender Michael Boxall, who has played more than 50 times for New Zealand, picked the right moment to score his first goal for his country when he broke the deadlock in 61st minute.
"Took a long ass time but I got there," Boxall quipped post-match.
Kosta Barbarouses came off the bench to replace captain and prolific goal-scorer Chris Wood, who has a hip injury, and scored the All Whites' second goal five minutes after their first.
"Feels like a culmination of 15 years of work into one moment really for me, a lot of ups and downs and to help contribute to get to where we want to go is pretty special, pretty emotional and just an amazing feeling to be honest," Barbarouses said.
The All Whites are the second team - outside of the hosts USA, Canada and Mexico - to qualify for the expanded 48-team tournament.
Japan were the first, securing their place last week via the Asia Football Confederation qualification pathway.
With 15 months until the world cup kicks off All Whites coach Darren Bazeley said the achievement was still sinking in.
"So I've watched every world cup, it's the biggest sporting event in the world not just the biggest football event, it's the biggest sporting event in the world and we're going.
"I probably hasn't really dawned on me what that actually means because we've been so focussed on just getting the job done and it's my job to get us there and I feel like whilst it's really nice now and it's a reward, it was my responsibility to help get us there so that's quite satisfying - but we always want more."
Twenty-year-old Tyler Bindon can ask his mum Jenny Bindon, a former Football Ferns goalkeeper, what it takes to perform at a world cup.
She's been through it all before.
However, the young player who has inked a deal with Nottingham Forest doesn’t appear to be the kind one would get intimidated by major occasions.
I believe you always experience some butterflies before the match begins, yet that turns into excitement pretty quickly. Once things get going, it’s all about playing football after all—just one ball and two goals. That’s something I’m accustomed to.
New Zealand Football receives slightly more than $18 million for making the qualification round, with approximately 40 percent of this amount set aside for the players.
Additional funds will replenish the treasury based on how deep the All Blacks progress in the competition.
To those athletes who didn’t participate in the qualifiers yet still aspire to secure their spot on the World Cup flight, Bazeley offers a straightforward message.
I believe they should continue to focus on their work with their clubs, maintain strong performances at the club level since we’ll have selection periods when we choose our teams, providing chances to make a case for themselves.
In June, The All Blacks will have an early look at one of the World Cup host venues as they face off against Côte d'Ivoire and Ukraine in the Canadian Shield tournament held in Toronto.