Hundreds of soccer fans turned out at Auckland International Airport on Sunday to give a rapturous welcome to the first of the All Whites to arrive home from the World Cup.

They waved banners and placards carrying messages including "Well Done All Whites" and "There's Only One Ivan Vicelich".

Many had waited more than an hour to see their heroes.

Assistant coach Brian Turner arrived with players Vicelich and Ben Sigmund to cheering and shouting from the arrivals lounge.

The All Whites were eliminated from the tournament in South Africa on Friday despite going through group play unbeaten, with draws against Paraguay, Slovakia and defending champions Italy - who also bowed out early.

Turner told journalists it was a great time for soccer in New Zealand.

"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."

Vicelich said it was great to come home to such an amazing welcome.

"The guys have played really well and showed that New Zealand deserved to be there," he said.

"There's feelings of disappointment for sure. We were one goal away from playing Japan in the next round, and who knows what could have happened."

Sigmund told journalists the New Zealand fans in South Africa were "absolutely fantastic" and stayed two to three hours after each game to show their support.

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