The All Whites have some work to do after going down 2-0 at home against Finland at Eden Park in Auckland.
Goals in both halves were enough for the 75th in the world ranked Finnish side to deny the All Whites their third win against European opposition.
In a game with few clear-cut chances, the visitors managed to make their two opportunities count.
Juho Pohjanpalo's 25th-minute headed goal from a corner put the visitors up midway through the first half, after Leo Walta’s perfectly weighted corner into the back post region, with the Finnish captain climbing higher than Francis de Vries to head the ball past Max Crocombe to the right side of the goal.
It was a night for de Vries to forget as the Auckland FC left back was forced off late in the first half with an injury.
The All Whites worked a few half-chances, with Tim Payne's powerful strike the closest they came in the first 45 minutes.
More chances seemed to flow the All Whites' way in the second half as they managed to fire 11 shots with just two on target.
Jesse Randall’s impact off the bench was immense as he continued his fine form in the A-League for Auckland FC to provide a few late chances for the All Whites as they chased an equaliser.
However, a swift counterattack goal against the run of play in the 85th minute put the game to bed for Finland.
A deflected cross from the right channel found an unmarked Jaakko Oskanen, who rolled it into the corner past Crocombe to put the game out of reach for the All Whites.
The home side was without several stars due to injury, including captain Chris Wood, Liberato Cacace, and Michael Boxall.
All Whites head coach Darren Bazeley said after the game that they wanted to put in a good performance and score goals, but they failed to do that tonight.
"I was disappointed in the first half, I didn't feel like we looked like ourselves, and we didn't control possession or our buildup. Out of possession, we were off the pace a little bit, which allowed them to control the ball," said Bazeley post-match.
Bazeley was disappointed with the defensive set piece as they left a man free on a corner to concede the first goal.
"It feels like a bit of an unusual performance from us, usually we've been really good at defending set plays, so it was unusual and not good enough, and it was a disappointing goal to concede."
Bazeley opted to start Ben Waine up front, with the Port Vale striker doing well in periods, but lacking the presence that Wood creates in the box.
A positive to come from the match was Lachlan Bayliss making his All Whites debut in midfield in the second half, and showing what he can do on the international stage after a strong run with the Newcastle Jets in the A-League.
The All Whites’ next test will be against Chile on Monday evening, who are coming into that match off the back of an entertaining 4-2 win against Cape Verde earlier on Friday evening at Eden Park.
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