New Zealand captain Bill Tuiloma, back in the country for the first time in the lead up to the tournament after being released by French Ligue 1 side Olympique Marseille, opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a rasping free kick struck from 25 yards.
The visitors levelled things up in the 27th minute when Brian Rochez Meija clipped the ball around New Zealand goalkeeper Oliver Sail when through one-on-one after a swift counter attack.
Honduras, who will contest Group F along with Germany, Fiji and Uzbekistan, went 2-1 up in the 63rd minute when Albert Elis Martinez finished well inside the New Zealand penalty area.
New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley said he was pleased with the opening period of the game which saw the hosts create several good scoring opportunities either side of Tuiloma’s opener.
“Today it’s the first time we’ve been able to have our whole squad together for an international game,” Bazeley said.
“We went out with the strong starting line-up and I thought for 20-25 minutes we were the much better team. We created three or four great chances, our possession was good and we looked safe in defence.
Bazeley said he felt his side let their opponents back into the contest, in part due to their own growing confidence in possession.
“We conceded a sloppy goal when we got caught on the break. We actually got a little bit too confident in possession because we were so on top of the game at that stage and we left ourselves a little bit bare. So that’s definitely something to learn from, especially when you’re leading a game.”
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to sustain our performance for the whole game and ended up losing to a good Honduras team. In the second half they showed they’ve got some very good players and some exciting front players who hurt us, especially that second goal on the break.
Ahead of New Zealand’s final warm-up match is against Austria on Sunday at Bays City Park (1pm), Bazeley said he was encouraged by the side’s effort with the tournament proper only nine days away.
“Overall it’s an improvement for us. We’ve shown signs today early on in the game with our strongest line-up that when we get it right, we’re not a bad team. But we’ve got to become more consistent and sustain that for 90 minutes.”
The Men’s U-20s open the FIFA U-20 World Cup on May 30 at North Harbour Stadium with their Group A clash against Ukraine.
New Zealand 1-2 Honduras (half: 1-1)
NZL: Bill Tuiloma 6’
HON: Brian Rochez Mejia 27’, Albert Elis Martinez 63’
New Zealand: 1. Oliver Sail (GK), 2. Jesse Edge, 3. Deklan Wynne, 4. Sam Brotherton, 5. Adam Mitchell, 7. Bill Tuiloma (capt), 8. Moses Dyer, 9. Alex Rufer, 10. Clayton Lewis, 11. Matthew Ridenton, 16. Joel Stevens
Substitutes: 12. Nik Tzanev (GK), 13. Brock Messenger, 14. Andre de Jong, 15. Andrew Blake, 17. Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, 20. Stuart Holthusen, 21. Cory Brown
Coach: Darren Bazeley
For more on the FIFA U-20 World Cup visit FIFA.com

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