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New Zealand coach Anthony Hudson has told ESPN FC he is relishing the prospect of leading the country in the Confederations Cup next year. The All Whites booked their place in Russia next year after beating Papua New Guinea on penalties in the final of the OFC Nations Cup earlier this month. It will be the fourth time New Zealand, ranked 147th in the world, have qualified for the Confederations Cup, having also featured in 1999, 2003 and 2009 editions of the tournament which serves a warm-up for the following year's World Cup hosts. English coach Hudson, son of former England and Chelsea star Alan, cannot wait to pit his wits against the winners of the world's other continental competitions ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. "It is incredible for our team and the campaign," Hudson told ESPN FC. "It's a major tournament and gives us the opportunity to play against top opposition and help us prepare for our intercontinental playoff next year. "It will be a real litmus test for us and we're looking forward to it. "We've had a challenging couple years, not a huge amount of games, and we've brought through a lot of young players, a lot of debutants... but we have the makings of a very strong team that can do something special in this campaign. "Playing against these teams will be a great challenge for us." Hudson, 35, has already achieved a lot in his fledgling career, managing two national teams in Bahrain and New Zealand and coaching in five tournaments with an impressive success rate. The former Tottenham Hotspur coach has earned a reputation as one of the the most promising young trainers in world football, making history with Bahrain by winning two Gulf Cups before guiding New Zealand to glory in Oceania. Hudson is approaching his two-year anniversary in charge of New Zealand and he can see progress being made with the national team. "It's been good. We've had plenty of challenges but I've enjoyed it," he added. "I decided to coach the Olympic team last year during the Olympic qualifiers. Since that time 12 months ago we've had 12 games plus four friendlies, won 15 and drawn one. "We are building a consistent team, and haven't even yet put all our best players out on the pitch. There's a lot of promise in the team and now we have this tournament in front of us we can really start progressing." New Zealand could come up against England at next summer's Confederations Cup should England win the European Championship this summer and former West Ham United trainee Hudson admits it would be a dream to play against his home country. "It would be great if England win the Euros and a dream if we played against them," noted Hudson. "I can't even put in words what it would mean to play against them in a major tournament, very special. But for now, I hope they do well." Hudson has helped Bahrain and New Zealand to qualify for major tournaments in the shape of the Asian Cup and Confederations Cup, but reaching the 2018 World Cup in Russia would be Hudson's greatest feat with New Zealand having only twice qualified for the World Cup finals -- in 1982 and 2010. "It would be the ultimate for us [reaching the World Cup], "We want to make history in this campaign. We want to make the country proud. And we have a chance to do that," Hudson said. "It's going to be a huge challenge but it's in our hands."
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