Mexico handed the All Whites a reality check in front of 25,271 fans at Pasadena's Spieker Field, aka The Rose Bowl, on 7 September, the champions of Oceania succumbing to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of "El Tri" in the first of two matches against nations co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup Finals. During the OFC Nations Cup tournament, the All Whites invariably got the early goal in their matches, but on this occasion, the boot was on the other foot, with Mexico opening the scoring just five minutes into this contest. Luis Romo spread play wide to Roberto Alvarado, whose header inside was dummied by Santiago Gimenez for Orbelin Pineda. He rifled a first-time half-volley into the far corner of the net, Max Crocombe getting a hand to it but not enough to divert the ball from its destiny. That was the cue for the Mexicans to dominate possession and territory, Crocombe denying them on three occasions in the next six minutes of play. The 'keeper dived to his left to keep out a fiercely struck drive from Gimenez, after Romo and Pineda had combined to good effect, while after racing out to block Julian Quinones' shot with his legs, New Zealand's goalkeeper prevented the same player from capitalising on another opening in the eleventh minute. Alvarado combined with the overlapping Israel Reyes on the quarter hour to open up the All Whites' defence yet again, the fullback inviting Pineda to unleash a shot on the turn. Crocombe once more came to New Zealand's rescue, this time saving with his outstretched leg. After that ferocious start, Mexico eased off the throttle a touch, allowing the All Whites a bit of breathing room. It wasn't long before normal service resumed, however, with goalkeeper Raul Rangel's raking ball forward causing chaos in the 26th minute. Gimenez was the target, and he had Tommy Smith in hot pursuit, the defender even trying to rugby-tackle his opponent before catching the sight of Crocombe approaching quickly out of the corner of his eye. The goalkeeper did enough to put Gimenez off, but there was the little matter of a now unguarded net for Mexico to exploit. Crocombe's presence did enough to prevent the striker from firing at goal, and by the time "El Tri" had managed to create an opening, the door had been firmly slammed shut by the retreating figures of Michael Boxall and Tim Payne. Boxall was to the fore again six minutes later, thwarting a shooting chance for Alvarado after Gimenez's cross had been headed down by Pineda for the flank player to finish off. Soon after, Crocombe was called upon again, this time to keep out a Cesar Montes header following a Mexican corner. In between these efforts, the All Whites mustered their first attack of the contest. Ben Old led the charge down the left, but opted not to use the overlapping run of Liberato Cacace, instead favouring a cross towards Chris Wood. Rangel read the danger, and smothered the ball before the prolific striker had the chance to shoot. Buoyed by that raid, the All Whites threatened twice more before half-time. They earned a couple of corners in the last five minutes of the half, and from one, taken by Joe Bell, Johan Vasquez's attempt to head the ball clear sent it flying across the face of goal, with Smith, racing in on the far post, inches away from heading it home - he ended up in the net without the ball for company.

Soon after, a Matt Garbett cross took a wicked deflection off Jesus Gallardo, requiring Rangel to grab the ball at his near post and preserve the 1-0 scoreline, which Mexico came desperately close to doubling in the final seconds of the half. Quinones led the charge downfield before splitting the retreating All Whites rearguard with an absolute peach of a pass into the stride of Romo. His first-time shot arrowed across Crocombe, only to hit the base of the far post and ricochet back towards the rampaging midfielder. But before he could capitalise, Old, racing back in cover, steered the ball to safety. The second half began in similar fashion to the first, with Mexico hot on attack from the outset. Quinones once again led the way, this time in the 48th minute, then linked with Gimenez and Luis Chavez, whose lovely cross found Pineda arriving at the near post. His shot crashed off the angle to safety. Quinones tweaked his hamstring soon after, so on came Cesar Huerta - talk about having an impact off the bench! Two minutes after entering the fray, he was the beneficiary of a slick one-two on the right twixt Romo and Pineda, the former's low cross finding the newcomer arriving on cue at the near post to deftly flick the ball past Crocombe and into the far corner of the net - 2-0 after 53 minutes. Sixty seconds later, Romo caused more problems, this time lobbing the ball over the defence to reward Huerta's well-timed run. He lobbed the stranded figure of Crocombe, but looked on with dismay as his shot drifted past the post. Mexico made it 3-0 in the 57th minute, Huerta leading the charge this time, before rewarding the overlapping run of Gallardo with a measured pass into his stride. The fullback picked out Pineda with his cross, and his lay-off invited Romo to let rip from twenty yards, a shot which deflected off the leg of Cacace and careered past the diving Crocombe. Marko Stamenic blocked a Gimenez effort soon after - another Huerta-orchestrated raid, after which Mexico gave some of their substitutes a run-out. The game swiftly lost its intensity and momentum, with stoppages aplenty in the final half-hour, mainly for substitutions but also for a few fouls which required the intervention of referee Joe Dickenson - it got a bit testy at times in the humid environment in which the match took place. Just one opportunity of note materialised in the last half-hour, and it came from a wayward New Zealand clearance in the 76th minute. Jesus Angulo latched onto the ball, and played it forward to fellow substitute Henry Martin, who beat Smith in the air to present Huerta with another shooting chance, this one a twelve-yarder which fizzed over Crocombe's crossbar from twelve yards. It was a comprehensive win by Mexico, however, the 3-0 scoreline a fair reflection of the gap between the teams, with New Zealand being made to feel how their Confederation rivals must have felt during their OFC Nations Cup encounters. Mexico:     Rangel; Reyes, Montes, Vasquez (booked, 73), Gallardo (Angulo, 71); Romo (Rodriguez, 71), Pineda (Cordova, 60), Chavez (booked, 77); Alvarado (Lainez, 60), Gimenez (Martin, 60), Quinones (Huerta, 51) All Whites:     Crocombe; Payne (Tuiloma, 65), Boxall, Smith (booked, 75 (Pijnaker, 81)), Cacace; Barbarouses (Rogerson, 81), Bell (Rufer, 71), Garbett, Stamenic (booked, 90), Old (Just, 65); Wood (Waine, 70) Referee:     Joe Dickerson (USA)