New Zealand, a quite young team that came to the FIFA Women's World Cup finals for the second time in China, would play aggressively in defence against Group D top seed Brazil, head coach John Herdman said here Monday.

"For us, the encounter with Brazil is a type of aggressively defensive play, as Brazil always sends a lot of players in attacking," said Herdman, an Englishman who led the New Zealand women's U-20 side to the World Cup in Russia last year.

The New Zealand U-20 team earned a stunning goalless tie with the eventual bronze medalists, Brazil, in Russia.

Herdman has includes nine players of the U-20 side into his senior team in China.

New Zealand will take on Brazil, the Athens Olympics runners-up with world-class striker Marta Vieira de Silva, in the Group D opener on Wednesday, followed by China-Denmark duel on the same day.

Telling a pre-match press conference, confidently-looking Herdman said that besides the aggressive defence, his team would explore the weakness of the opponents.

New Zealand's first World Cup finals trip was also in China but in 1991 when the Kiwis lost all the three group matches, 3-0 to Denmark, 4-0 to Norway and 4-1 to hosts China.

Answering a question from Xinhua, Herdman said that he did not set any target for his team at this World Cup but they might do something beyond people's expectations.

"It is unrealistic for me to ask my team to even tie Brazil, China or Denmark. The practical strategy is to try to make all players play their best in the games," he noted.

"If so, there is a chance for us," he said.

Herdman also expressed the hope that his team's credible performances in the World Cup could lead the women's soccer in New Zealand to a new era.

Source: Xinhua