The All Whites have won their first match back in international football for almost two years.
Photo: Photosport Ltd 2021
A strong first half has helped New Zealand to a 2-1 win over the small Caribbean nation of Curacao in Bahrain on Sunday morning (NZ time).
The All Whites opened the scoring in just the ninth minute when a free-kick from defender Bill Tuiloma took a deflection off the wall and went in.
New Zealand's slick start continued and shortly after the half-hour they stole the ball in the Curacao half before captain Chris Wood produced a clinical finish to make it 2-0.
In muggy conditions of more than 30 degrees, the All Whites struggled to continue their dominance in the second half and with around 20 minutes to play a defensive error allowed Curacao to pull a goal back through striker Rangelo Janga.
Despite applying pressure, though, Curacao never truly threatened to grab an equaliser as New Zealand held on to win their first match since November, 2019.
The match was the first of two on the trip for an All Whites without any New Zealand or Australian-based players due to Covid travel restrictions.
They played tournament hosts Bahrain on Wednesday.