The first of the New Zealand national team to arrive home from the World Cup has been welcomed by fans at Auckland International Airport.

Assistant manager Brian Turner, midfielder Ivan Vicelich and defender Ben Sigmund arrived home to cheering and applause from fans who had spent over an hour waiting to see their heroes and it was received well by Turner.

"It's nice to know that people back home were 100 per cent behind us. The players really appreciated it," he said.

"It's been a fantastic achievement going through a World Cup qualifying series, especially as we were undefeated against three of the better teams in the world, including the reigning world champions."