The Junior All Whites suffered a 4-0 a defeat at the hands of host nation Qatar in the opening game of a four-nation tournament in Doha on Wednesday.
Playing a day after arriving in camp at the Aspire Academy, the New Zealand U-20 side were 1-0 down at halftime and the hosts struck three times in the second half to provide the final margin.
Speaking soon after the game, Junior All Whites coach Darren Bazeley said the first-up match was a tough experience with two players sick during the first half while Brock Messenger suffered a head cut and then a tackle which saw the defender finish the day on crutches.
"It was a really tough day but the boys put in an amazingly tough shift of hard work," Bazeley said.
"We came up against a host nation that were quite buzzy, good in possession and very sharp. We were just probably off our game and not quite our usual selves but we were unlucky a couple of times not to get on the score sheet."