The Young Football Ferns exited the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup on Monday after falling 3-0 to Japan in their final Group C match in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Needing a victory from the clash at the National Stadium of Costa Rica to keep their quarter-final hopes alive, New Zealand set out to negate the Japanese side's possession rhythm.
Jitka Klimkova's team reverted to a 4-1-4-1 formation for the match which saw Japan make a fast start, asserting their dominance with the ball without creating regular clear scoring chances.
After 20 minutes, Japan did craft a good opening, getting to the byline before a cut back found Yui Hasegawa who slammed home from eight yards out.
The second half produced a similar theme as the Young Football Ferns worked hard to restrict the scoring opportunities of their opponents, their own attacking threat limited to quick counter opportunities via the pace outlets of Jade Parris, Martine Puketapu and Paige Satchell.