Skipper Abby Erceg believes that New Zealand have finally built a winning side capable of upsetting the favourites at the Women's World Cup in Canada.

The 25-year-old defender, who already has 100 caps in nine years with the Football Ferns, said confidence had been boosted by their quarter-final run at the 2012 Olympics.

New Zealand open their third World Cup campaign in Edmonton on Saturday against tournament newcomers the Netherlands in a Group A which also includes hosts Canada and China.

"We've gone from a team just participating, to a team that can be a threat," said Erceg, who has competed in all their World Cup campaigns.

"The core group of players is basically the same. Now we have players with over 100 caps. In terms of experience we can build on that."

Coach Tony Readings' 17th-ranked side have never advanced out of the group stages.

"Everyone has been building to peak at this event. We've been building since the Olympics," he told a press conference at the Commonwealth Stadium, where their opening match will played before a capacity 56,000 crowd.

"We're not searching for third place but top of the group. We hope to grow through the tournament to the later stages," the Englishman explained.

"I don't think the difference is great between the teams in our group ... between Canada (ranked eighth) and us. Holland are 12th, they play to their strengths. Their game is very similar to us.

"It will be a real test of two teams that are very familiar. We've seen that they have gaps in defending that is where we're going to look to exploit."

New Zealand will play Canada, who are led by their former coach John Herdman, next Thursday, with their final group match against China in Winnipeg on Monday, June 15.