The Caribbean side, ranked 82nd in the world, proved to be far more clinical than their opponents in the humid Florida heat. Ruben Providence opened the scoring after just 12 minutes, before substitute Lenny Joseph doubled the advantage shortly after the interval. Frantzdy Pierrot added a third with a header, and Markhus Lacroix rounded off the scoring with a long-range effort that left the All Whites reeling.
New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley echoed Wood’s sentiments, acknowledging that his side were given a “real harsh lesson” by a ruthless Haitian outfit. “We worked hard, but we lacked quality in moments,” Bazeley admitted. “When you look at the game, possession was fairly even and chances were fairly even, but Haiti were very clinical and very ruthless in those moments and it’s a real harsh lesson for us, especially with tough games coming up. We have England coming up and the World Cup games coming up. The boys in the changing room are very disappointed.”