As the All Whites funnelled through the mixed zone in the bowels of Polokwane's Peter Mokaba Stadium after their final World Cup match, there was no euphoria, no sense of a job well done, not even an obligatory smile for the cameras.

To a man their heads were bowed and their faces ashen, as if they had let themselves and the New Zealand sporting public down.

That the New Zealand football team could go through the World Cup undefeated - they were the only team of the 32 at South Africa 2010 to do so after drawing their three group matches but failing to progress to the knockout rounds - and be so dismayed at bowing out was testament to how far the sport has come in the past 12 months.

They can reflect fondly on a wonderful ride that captivated the nation, though, despite surprising the world with their feats, the team felt they fell short of their own expectations.

Maybe they did. Had they pushed harder for a result in that final match against Paraguay, instead of sitting back and attempting to catch the eventual group winners on the break, maybe they could, dare we suggest, have topped the group?

Either way, there is no doubt Winston Reid's stoppage time equaliser against Slovakia in a 1-1 draw at Rustenburg and Shane Smeltz's early toe-poke goal in a famous 1-1 draw with defending champions Italy at Nelspruit provided New Zealanders with enduring memories.

Even the 0-0 draw with Paraguay, ranked inside the world's top 20, was a previously unthinkable result for a New Zealand team, and it should be remembered the buildup campaign in Austria included a 1-0 win over Serbia, also ranked inside the top 20.

"It's been the biggest time in my life in football," All Whites coach Ricki Herbert reflected.

"To get it across the line after so long not being at a World Cup, and then to got there and get the results that we got, it was an amazing time. I think that very clearly sent a strong message around the world about football in New Zealand, and that was important to us.

"It was the perfect combination that came together at the right time."

Several players enhanced their reputations, none more so than inspirational captain Ryan Nelsen, outstanding goalkeeper Mark Paston, and young defenders Tommy Smith and Winston Reid, both newcomers to the team this year having switched allegiances after playing for England and Denmark, respectively, at youth level.

Nelsen and Paston each featured twice in The Guardian's list of top 10 individual performances at the tournament.

Reid went on to sign with English Premier League team West Ham - he has not yet made an impact at Upton Park - but other big contract offers for All Whites post-World Cup were not forthcoming.

Strikers Chris Killen and Shane Smeltz and defender Ivan Vicelich went to the relatively obscure Chinese league but that was about it.

Smeltz lasted three days at Shandong Luneng, returning to Australia briefly before signing with Turkish club Genclerbirligi in late August.

The hard luck story was that of vice-captain Tim Brown, who sustained a shoulder injury in a 1-2 loss to Australia in a warm-up match at Melbourne. Despite making the final 23 for South Africa after completing a race against time to prove his fitness, the midfield mainstay did not feature at the tournament.

The team, ranked 78 before the World Cup and now sitting at 63rd in the world, returned home in October to celebrate their achievement with matches against Honduras (1-1 at Auckland) and Paraguay (0-2 loss at Wellington) and New Zealand Football is targeting a regular diet of matches next year as preparations begin for Brazil 2014.

The national body is in a financially strong position after securing ASB Bank as a major sponsor, but is on the lookout for a new chief executive after Michael Glading surprisingly ended his 2-1/2 year tenure late in the year, believing his work had been done at NZF and citing the need for new challenges.

Wellington Phoenix's playoffs run in the A-League in February-March kicked the year off nicely.

They finished fourth in the regular season, becoming the first New Zealand-based footballteam to make the playoffs in an Australian national league, and had a sellout home crowd of 32,000 in a playoff win against Newcastle before losing the preliminary final 2-4 at Sydney FC.

They are under-performing this season, however, mired in mid-table and with a real battle on their hands just to make the playoffs, despite having what most pundits would agree is a better team, on paper, than last season.

Domestically, Waitakere United won the national league title, beating Canterbury United in the final, and Wellington club Miramar Rangers prevailed over Auckland's Bay Olympic in the Chatham Cup final.

The New Zealand women's team had a top year, too, qualifying for next year's World Cup in Germany after breezing through Oceania qualifying at Auckland in October, scoring 50 goals and conceding none from their five matches.

The Football Ferns also had good results in other competitions, including a 1-0 win over Italy, a 3-0 win over Scotland, a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands and a 0-0 draw with England.