Set-piece blunder costs All Whites against Finland in first FIFA World Cup send-off match
Friday, 27 March 2026
At Eden Park, Auckland: Finland 2 (Joel Pojahnpalo 25’, Jaarko Oksanen 85’) All Whites 0. HT: 1-0
The All Whites “had the handbrake on” in the first half as they slumped to their seventh defeat in their last eight matches in the first of two FIFA World Cup send-off fixtures.
Finland took the lead by capitalising on a defensive lapse at a corner midway through the opening 45 minutes at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday night – a period players were left lamenting afterwards.
Joel Pojahnpalo rose over a sluggish Francis de Vries at the 25th-minute set-piece, while Ben Waine also failed to react quickly enough to the danger.
Substitute Jaarko Oksanen then scored a second five minutes from time as the All Whites pushed forward chasing an equaliser.
Jesse Randall missed a golden chance to equalise 10 minutes earlier in an impressive turn after coming off the bench at halftime.
Ben Old was also influential playing on both the left and right of the attacking midfield trio, without quite finding the right final ball, while captain Marko Stamenić was tireless.
The match was by no means one-sided, but from the All Whites’ point of view, there will be plenty of room for improvement come Monday at the same venue.
They host Chile – 4-2 winners over 10-man Cape Verde earlier on Friday – in their last home match before June’s World Cup.
Coach Darren Bazeley said of de Vries failing to track his man properly: “It can’t happen and it hasn’t happened.
“That’s why it feels like it’s quite an unusual performance from us. That’s something we can control a bit more”.
The lapse was part of a wider first-half malaise, where the world No 85 All Whites weren’t able to impose themselves and dictate proceedings against world No 75 Finland in a rare home match against a competitive opponent.
Stamenić said after his second outing in a row as captain: “We came in at halftime and we knew what we needed to change. We had the handbrake on. We weren't as aggressive as we normally are, and we had to change that from the start of the second half.
“I think the second half, that side of it was relatively good. We had a few chances. We could have done better to put them away, but these are all things that we can look at tomorrow, analyse and use for Monday.”
Stamenić was partnered by Ryan Thomas at the base of midfield, as the wait to see both of them and Joe Bell on the pitch at the same time went on. Bazeley said Bell – one of eight substitutes used – had been managing a calf niggle and initially was set to sit the match out entirely.
Finland midfielder Leo Walta – a team-mate of Stamenić’s at Swansea City – was influential, combining with left winger Oliver Antman to overload the All Whites in their troublesome right back zone – where Tim Payne had a tough night – throughout the first half.
The corner that led to the opening goal came from one of their attacks, as did several other chances.
Walta nearly capped his evening with a thunderous second-half strike from distance that rattled Kiwi goalkeeper Max Crocombe’s crossbar.
The All Whites looked at their best when they got Old running with the ball at his feet – down the left in the first half, then down the right in the second – but those threatening moments rarely led to clear-cut shots.
One exception was Randall’s chance in the 75th minute, which came after Old played him in and he shrugged off his marker. Getting to the byline, he wasn’t able to bend his shot goalward and had to watch as it went narrowly over the bar.
While he was glad to have had a strong outing high up the pitch after weeks playing at left back for his club, Old was among those gutted not to have done better for the 17,603 fans in attendance.
“It just didn’t look like we wanted it enough,” was his analysis afterwards. “They looked like they were winning all the duels, winning all the chances – just simple things you need to do to win a game.
“We didn't have the quality, but I also don't think we had the fight that deserved to win the game.”
Bazeley said there had been “a lot of honesty” from the his players after a first half that wasn’t up to scratch.
“It hurts the players, because we all know this is a home game, with a good crowd.
“They wanted so hard to put on a performance and get a result, because we have done it pretty tough over the last year away from home, and this time we're the home team.
“We should have that advantage, and we didn't take advantage of that.”
The All Whites suffered an injury blow when de Vries went off late in the first half after feeling tightness in his calf.
He was being assessed but it is hard to see him playing on Monday, with his next club match for Auckland FC in A-League Men as soon as next Friday night.
Lachlan Bayliss made his debut in the second half and released Old and Eli Just with a couple of nice first-time balls in midfield, but was left trailing goalscorer Oksanen as Finland put the match to bed.