The All Whites have been soundly beaten 3-1 in their international friendly against Jordan in Abu Dhabi on Saturday (NZ time).
The Kiwis started strongly but failed to create goal-scoring opportunities, while their opponents in the box at the opposite end of the field against stand-in goalkeeper Michael Woud, who had a night to forget filling in for COVID-inflicted Stefan Marinovic.
In the 21st minute, Jordan's Ali Olwan scored the first of his two goals to open the scoring, beating Woud into the top of his net at the near post.
Making his first international start, Francis de Vries drew a foul in the box to set up a penalty attempt for Chris Wood and the captain calmly slotted home to level the scores in the 30th minute.
But the Jordanians responded immediately with a penalty of their own to Musa Al-Taamari, after De Vries this time conceded the foul with a hand ball.
In the 80th minute, Olwan slid another shot past Woud at the near post to cement victory for his side.
The All Whites now look ahead to a clash with Uzbekistan on Wednesday, which will be the final opportunity for coach Danny Hay to test combinations before the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournament in March.
Jordan 3 (Ali Olwan 21’ 80’, Musa Al-Taamari 33’ pen) All Whites 1 (Chris Wood pen 30’) HT: 2-1
