The All Whites have been defeated 4-0 by Haiti in their first 2026 FIFA World Cup warm up match in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The game, played in humid conditions, was delayed by half an hour due to lightening strikes in the vicinity of Chase Stadium.

The delayed friendly started in a lively fashion for Haiti, who after a few warning shots, managed to open the scoring in the 11^th minute through Ruben Providence. The forward delicately lifted the ball over an on rushing Alex Paulsen from a tight angle.

But New Zealand didn’t let the bad start deter them as they responded strongly after going down through a flurry of chances.

One of the most eye catching goal scoring opportunities to fall the All Whites way was through Chris Wood, whose acrobatic bicycle kick effort after a corner, was saved on the line by the Hatian goalkeeper Johny Placide.

Overnight social media star, Tim Payne would be in the thick of one of the matches’ more controversial moments.

The defender had a penalty appeal waved away by the referee despite his protests of being clipped by Haiti’s goalkeeper Johny Placide after chasing down a chipped through ball behind the Haitian defence.

The penalty shout signalled New Zealand’s best period of the match as they dominated possession for large parts of the first half and looked dangerous on set pieces.

It culminated in the best chance of an All Whites goal in the 33^rd minute when Marko Stamenic’s guided header was palmed away by Haiti’s Johny Placide to ensure his side's 1-0 lead at halftime.

All Whites coach Darren Bazeley made wholesale changes at the break as he gave minutes to the Kiwi bench.

The change in personnel couldn’t prevent Haiti from doubling their lead shortly after the break, as Lenny Joseph latched onto a pinpoint pass, bouncing off the scrambling Kiwi defenders to calmly slot home Haiti’s second in the 51st minute.

Things went from bad to worse for the All Whites at the start of the second half, as Haiti added a third through the head of Frantzdy Pierrot in the 62^nd minute, raising the roof at Chase Stadium in Miami.

Further substitutions from Darren Bazeley tried to breathe new life into the All Whites but it did little to dent Haiti’s defence as the Caribbean side grew in confidence.

Haiti added their fourth and final goal in the 87^th minute through Duke Lacroix as his curling effort from the edge of the box sealed the result in Fort Lauderdale.

Fulltime

All Whites 0 

Haiti 4 (Duke Lacroix 87', Frantzdy Pierrot 62', Lenny Joseph 51', Ruben Providence 12')

Article added: Wednesday 03 June 2026