The All Whites face a massive hurdle to get to the next soccer World Cup in Russia if, as expected, they top the Oceania qualifying phase.
The draw in St Petersburg has pitted the Oceania winners against the fifth-placed South American nation in an intercontinental play-off for a berth in the 2018 tournament.
Two-time World Cup winners Uruguay have finished fifth in the last four South American qualifying competitions and taken part in an intercontinental play-off on each occasion.
Last time around, with the likes of star strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani in their side, they beat Jordan 5-0 on aggregate to get to the World Cup in Brazil.
As Oceania's representatives, New Zealand defeated Bahrain (Asia) to get to the 2010 World Cup, and lost to out to Mexico (North and Central America) in the play-off for the 2014 tournament.
In Oceania qualifying for 2018, there will be four stages, with the All Whites entering at stage two in May and June next year, when eight teams will be split into two pools of four.
New Zealand's pool opponents will be Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Fiji, with the top three going on to the next stage.