A willing All Whites combination gave Mexico a good run for their money at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on March 3, but the world's fifteenth-ranked nation ultimately proved too good for their fellow World Cup finalists, prevailing by a comfortable 2-0 margin in front of a sell-out crowd numbering 90,526. The All Whites gave as good as they got in the at times testy opening stages, before Mexico engineered the first opening of the match in the ninth minute. Veteran captain, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, linked with Aldo De Nigris to bring overlapping fullback Efrain Juarez into play, and he cut inside before unleashing a shot which Glen Moss saved diving to his left. The closely fought nature of the contest continued, with the black-clad Mexicans finding the resilient New Zealand combination difficult to penetrate. They were largely reduced to shooting from long-range for a spell, with one effort in particular deserving of a goal. Blanco delivered a 28th minute corner to a spot well outside the penalty area where Jonathan Dos Santos was lurking. He had gone close with a range-finder a minute earlier, but on this occasion he caught the ball flush on the volley. His technique was superb, and so was his accuracy. But it was the sheer power in the shot which left folk stunned - the ball crashed against the crossbar and cannoned back into play, finally falling to earth some thirty yards downfield. An absolutely stunning strike! Blanco and Giovanni Dos Santos combined to play in Jonathan Dos Santos nine minutes before half-time, and on this occasion the midfielder with the ferocious shot saw Moss smother his deflected effort, the last act of note in a half which saw a solid All Whites line-up holding their own throughout proceedings. All that changed from the start of the second half, when Mexican coach Javier Aguirre unleashed some of his stars onto the park - to say they made a difference is something of an understatement! Within three minutes, they came desperately close to breaking the deadlock with a scintillating move. Rafael Marquez switched play to the left flank, where half-time substitute Carlos Vela brought the ball down superbly before, in the same movement, back-heeling it into the stride of Andres Guardado. The flank player bent the ball in with the outside of his right foot onto the head of another half-time replacement, Javier Hernandez, whose salmon-like leap saw him meet the ball perfectly, only to direct his header past the post. The All Whites breathed a collective sigh of relief, but it was premature, for within nine minutes, Mexico had scored twice. The first goal came in the 54th minute, with Guardado and Francisco Rodriguez playing a slick one-two which saw the former dash over the half-way line before releasing a slide-rule ball down the left for overlapping fullback Salcido to stride onto. His cross found Hernandez soaring Tommy Lawton-like above all-comers, and the striker directed a powerful header beyond Moss and into the corner of the net - 1-0 Mexico, and a classic striker's goal to boot.

Three minutes later, they struck again to kill the game off as a contest. Again, it was a goal of quality, with Guardado's incisive touch being seized upon by Vela. The striker evaded Andy Boyens' challenge, then outmuscled Ben Sigmund inside the penalty area. It was a toss-up as to which was the more uncommon sight - the solidly built Sigmund being muscled off the ball, or a striker keeping his feet in the penalty area when challenged! Either way, Vela prevailed, and deftly side-stepped the by-now-recovered figure of Boyens before slotting the ball across Moss and in by the far post. The opening goal had prompted All Whites' coach Ricki Herbert to introduce fresh legs, and Michael McGlinchey and Rory Fallon both made a noteworthy impact upon entering the fray, raising the quality of New Zealand's game with their incisive passing and movement. It was fitting that they should play a significant part in an All Whites' goal harshly ruled out by the offside flag with fifteen minutes remaining. McGlinchey picked out Fallon with an angled ball, and the striker headed it down to Shane Smeltz before moving for the return pass. As it reached him, Fallon fair thrashed it across Mexican 'keeper Luis Michel into the far corner of the net, only to discover the flag was raised - he couldn't have been more than half a body-width offside at most, but the eagle-eyed flag-bearer was perfectly placed to judge. The sight of the ball in their net, albeit illegitimately on this occasion, sparked some life back into Mexico's display, which had been in coast mode since the double-strike. They were quite content with a two-goal lead, but stepped things up thirteen minutes from time. Ricardo Osorio played the ball forward to Hernandez, who dropped back to receive the ball then laid it off to Marquez before sprinting down the right in anticipation of a return pass. It duly arrived, and allowed Hernandez to surge towards goal, letting fly at the target upon entering the penalty area. Moss battered his shot to safety. Rodriguez sent a header from a Braulio Luna free-kick looping onto the crossbar eight minutes from time, while in stoppage time, Giovanni Dos Santos gathered the ball on the left and got in behind New Zealand's defence - they had a field day down that flank throughout proceedings. This time round, Dos Santos pulled the ball back into the stride of Hernandez, who, on another day, would have had a match trick. But debutant defender Tommy Smith - a solid game - was there to thwart his attempt, and confirm Mexico as 2-0 victors over a New Zealand side which should certainly improve inside the one hundred days which remain before the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals commence on June 11. Mexico:     Michel; Juarez (Moreno, 46), Marquez, Osorio, Salcido; G. Dos Santos, J. Dos Santos (Castro, 60), Blanco (Hernandez, 60), Torrado (Rodriguez, 46), Guardado (Luna, 60); De Nigris (Vela, 46) New Zealand:     Moss; Sigmund, Boyens, Smith; Coombes (McGlinchey, 54), Brown (booked, 1) (Barron, 79), Elliott, Bertos, Lochhead (booked, 81); Smeltz (Wood, 79), Killen (Fallon, 54) Referee:     Jair Marrufo (USA)