KEY POINTS:
No one said it would be easy but given the preparation the New Zealand under-17 team had leading into their World Cup in Korea, expectations of a half-decent showing were high.
Such hopes were dashed with 7-0 and 5-0 losses to Brazil and England in their tournament openers.
In conceding a couple of early goals in both matches, the Costa Barbarouses-led side has been forced to play catch-up. Against teams of this class, that does not happen.
They did have a half chance to get back to 2-1 against Brazil but Barbarouses muffed his penalty attempt. The Brazilians smartly turned their good fortune into another goal. At 3-0, New Zealand were gone.
It was much the same story in the second match against England.
Down 2-0 after just seven minutes and 4-0 after half an hour, the picture could not have been worse.
New Zealand Soccer chief executive Graham Seatter, as disappointed as anyone with the results so far, was taking a "we must remain positive" stand yesterday. That is becoming more difficult.
Seatter said at the time of the draw when Colin Tuaa's team were put in the same group as Brazil, England and North Korea that it would be tough. While nerves almost certainly played a part in the bumbling efforts in their first two matches, that alone is not an acceptable excuse for not being competitive. The under-17 team was seen as perhaps the best prepared of the New Zealand teams stepping into the international arena as Oceania champions this year.
Already they have been upstaged by the Jack Pelter/Dan Keat-led team who, while losing three-from-three at the under-20 World Cup in Canada, were never given a shellacking. They lost 2-0 to Portugal, 1-0 to Gambia and 2-1 to Mexico.
Not great but results which did not send Fifa bosses into despair.
The same cannot be said about the under-17 team who go into tomorrow's final match against North Korea in damage control mode.
After the loss to Brazil, Tuaa hit the panic button, made three changes in defence with only Tim Myers surviving. If he is regarded as the best of his back four, Tuaa and his players face another tough battle as Myers will be missing after being booked twice.
The most disturbing aspect of the New Zealand game, across the board these days, is their inability to score goals.
In a final warm-up for their World Cup, the under-17s lost 4-0 to South Korea. In their last three meaningful games they have conceded 16 goals - and scored none. The under-20s conceded five - and scored one.
The women, in their recent US foray, lost 6-1 and 1-0 - the only goal, a Rebecca Smith penalty.
That is never going to be good enough. Unless Tuaa can work a miracle and find something different, it promises to be an even more dismal story by the time this team shuffles off home.
To further emphasise the task ahead, England and North Korea drew their opener 1-1. The New Zealanders will take some heart in that Brazil thumped the Koreans 6-1 in their second-round clash.
That alone should not, however, suggest the Youth All Whites can pick up a face-saving point. Only hard work - for 90 minutes - can do that.
