The All Whites entered the Confederations Cup with so much hope, so much expectation of creating history by claiming their first point at a senior men's tournament.
The chance of that changing against Iraq on Sunday morning (NZT) seems slim if they play the way they have in their past two games.
It's not that they have conceded seven goals that has been the most disappointing - although that's depressing enough - it's that they have not come close to playing the way they could and should. Too many players have gone missing in the two games and it is inevitable coach Ricki Herbert will make changes for the last game against the Asian champions who lost by only 1-0 to Spain earlier this morning.
It's not as if he has a huge pool of players to turn to and it is a reality of New Zealand football that they will invariably start a match as underdogs.
They are never going to be the equals of their opponents technically at tournaments like this but that's when the players need to find something to make up for that - passion, intensity and a physical presence for a start. Those qualities have been sorely missing and it becomes impossible when possession is given away cheaply and the opposition is given too much room.
The World Cup is just a dream at the moment.
"It was disappointing tonight," Herbert said. "There were too many players not backing up. We have had two big games now, Italy and Spain, and we have gone with a similar team and a few of them struggled to get going tonight.
"Some players were OK, but there were some disappointing performances as well. I'm not sure we are a team which can play with half a side and not the other half."
In truth, the 2-0 defeat to South Africa is more disappointing than the 5-0 hammering handed out by Spain because the European champions are in a different class, and they should have been beaten by more this morning.
"I think they are both disappointing," midfielder Simon Elliott said. "You are playing for your country and you expect a good performance every time you go out. Sometimes good teams don't let you play but you still get bits and pieces out of games.
"We could have done better against Spain and we certainly could have done better tonight. They are both disappointing. You have got to come to play every time you play for your country.
"I think we have to pressure the ball. We do a decent job of keeping shape but shape is no good if you don't pressure the ball. It was something we worked on but we didn't pull it off. And I think we need to move the ball quicker. We are trying to do the right things but we didn't execute well."
The All Whites struggled to cope with the pace and ball movement of South Africa and it translated into a busy night for goalkeeper Glen Moss. The 25-year-old was outstanding at times and kept the score respectable and it is a tragedy he won't be available for the World Cup playoff against either Bahrain or Saudi Arabia because of a four-match suspension hanging over him.
Because of that, Mark Paston is likely to start against Iraq, while Ben Sigmund is also expected to get a run.
Sigmund will most likely start at centre-back but some thought might be given to starting him at right-back, where David Mulligan has had a torrid time. Six of the seven goals conceded have come down his flank. Tony Lochhead was equally ineffective and he was lucky Bafana Bafana didn't capitalise more.
"We have struggled a little bit on both sides," Herbert said. "I was disappointed in the left side tonight. We didn't get anything going there. There are some tired legs so I think we will freshen things up. Players haven't been playing [games] coming into the tournament and they are being exposed at times.
"Against Iraq we are still chasing that elusive point and that will be a priority on Saturday [Sunday NZT]. We will certainly be going out with the intention of getting a result."
Michael Brown is in South Africa courtesy of Emirates, official airline of the 2010 World Cup.
