Football: Anthony Hudson takes aim at 'unbelievable' Peru tactics

By Jason Pine in Lima

All Whites coach Anthony Hudson has expressed his frustration at aspects of his side's buildup to their 2-0 loss to Peru in Lima, which spelled the end of their World Cup hopes.

Delayed and diverted flights, tardy bus drivers, lost gate keys, early morning fireworks and military flyovers were just some of what New Zealand had to deal with during their time in Lima.

"I'm always really honest and I probably shouldn't be at times, but I think it's been poor," Hudson said after the game.

"We got on the airplane and I asked the stewardess how long it was to Peru and she said, "We're not going to Peru, we're going to Chile!"

"Ever since then, it's been unbelievable. We didn't sleep at all last night with the fireworks. Today I thought I'd grab a quick hour's sleep by the pool and all of a sudden all these jet fighter planes are flying past and the pilots are taking selfies in the planes with their Peru shirts on."

"But never once in the two or three days here in Peru have we used that as an excuse. We've got such an honest group of players who have dealt with it so well - they've been so calm with it all."

"We just got on with it and said we wouldn't let it beat us and we did deal with it very well," he said.

Goals to Jefferson Farfan and Christian Ramos gave Peru the 2-0 win which sends them to the World Cup for the first time since 1982. The victory was greeted with delirious scenes both inside Estadio Nacional and in the streets of Lima as thousands of Peruvians celebrated the victory.

For New Zealand, their next chance for qualification will be Qatar 2022.

Hudson diverted questions about his future as New Zealand coach afterwards, saying it wasn't the time for those discussions.

"Obviously I'm incredibly disappointed but my initial feeling is one of incredible pride for the players," he said.

"They're a quality team and on the night they just had a bit too much for us."