‘No hiding’ as Haiti thrash New Zealand in pre World Cup friendly

Coach Darren Bazeley called it “really disappointing” as his New Zealand side suffered a demoralizing 4-0 World Cup warm-up defeat to fellow qualifiers Haiti on Tuesday, in a match delayed by lightning in Florida. It was New Zealand’s heaviest loss in nine years and a rude awakening with a friendly against England next and the World Cup in North America just over a week away. The game at Inter Miami’s stadium in Fort Lauderdale — which teed up two of the lowest-ranked teams at the World Cup — started 30 minutes late because of the weather.

When it did begin, Haiti took the lead after 12 minutes through Ruben Providence. The 32-year-old New Zealand defender Tim Payne, who has become an unlikely social media star, was among a raft of players to come off at half-time. With much of the crowd behind them, Haiti scored after the break through Lenny Joseph, Frantzdy Pierrot and Duke Lacroix as the New Zealand defence capitulated.