Chile 2 New Zealand 0
The All Whites say they were derailed by an organisational shambles at their final World Cup warm-up game near Nelspruit.
Fast and clever Chile won 2-0 at Kanyamazane Stadium, although the All Whites held them out when coach Ricki Herbert had his strongest combination on the field.
Chris Killen, one
of the strikers under pressure for more goals from coach Ricki Herbert, said the side were disappointed in their performance, especially the poor ball retention.
After the All Whites arrived in Nelspruit by plane, they found there was no pre-match meal ready at the ground. The food arrived late, and too close to kick-off for comfort.
The problems didn't stop there - there was no hot water in the showers afterwards.
Killen said: "It wasn't one of our better performances.
"The ball retention wasn't good but I think you can put some of it down to the preparation.
"There was no pre-match meal ready and it was a shambles."
Immediately after the game, played in front of a raucous crowd which was optimistically estimated at 12,000, Herbert said he wanted "more spark up front" in the World Cup.
"They need to be a little sharper," he said of his strikers.
While the All Whites could not match Chile for skill, as per usual they did create some chances, but were left empty handed.
But Killen said: "I don't think so...if you look over the years we have lacked a goal scoring threat but we have scored against good teams. I think it was more about ball retention today.
"We've travelled a lot and it's nice to be in camp and now we've got to go away and get ready for the opening game.
"The atmosphere was brilliant today and we can't wait for the World Cup to start."
While Killen said the team was disappointed, Herbert said he thought the side was "very comfortable" in the first 60 minutes, when he had close to his best combination on the field.
Chile won the match in the final half-hour period. They broke the deadlock when Gonzalo Fierro powered a shot between Jim Bannatyne - who had replaced Mark Paston - and the near post.
Questions might be asked of Bannatyne - who is short of match play - in this instance, but he was not at fault for the second.
With Glen Moss suspended for the first two games, the little used Bannatyne would have to take over if Paston was injured.
Herbert started Vicelich, a defender in recent years, in a defensive midfield role and said after the match that he was an option there in the World Cup.
"He's had a wealth of experience in Europe," Herbert said.
Injured midfielder Tim Brown is about to re-join the side, recently repaired shoulder an all, but it is still no certainty that he will become part of the World Cup 23.
It is hard to see how his shoulder could be sufficiently repaired for the burden of World Cup action, and his conditioning would also be suspect.
The All Whites have until Monday, the day before their opener against Slovakia, to make a decision.
Herbert was not overly positive about Brown actually taking the field in South Africa, but rated him a 90 per cent chance to come back into the squad for temporary replacement Cole Peverley.
If released, the management have arranged for Peverley to stay in South Africa as an unattached squad member.