Haiti sent a warning to Group C on 6 June 2026, hammering New Zealand 4-0 in a World Cup warm-up at Inter Miami CF Stadium in Florida. Ruben Providence struck after 12 minutes, Lenny Joseph doubled the lead six minutes after the restart, Frantzdy Pierrot headed a third after the hour-mark and Markhus Lacroix added a late long-range fourth.
The result will be read closely because Haiti are the lowest ranked nation at this summer's finals, yet they handled a side that included Chris Wood of Nottingham Forest, Elijah Just of Motherwell and Jesse Randall, who had recently signed for Dundee United. For New Zealand, it was a flat afternoon that offered little reassurance before the tournament begins in earnest.
That is why the search for chris wood new zealand is landing on this match now: it was not just a friendly, but a test against one of the teams Scotland will meet in Group C on 14 June in Boston before facing Morocco and Brazil. Haiti are also sitting three places below New Zealand in the rankings mentioned around the game, which makes the scale of the win hard to ignore.
Haiti's own build-up was not smooth. Woodensky Pierre, the squad's only player based in the Caribbean nation, missed the match because his visa was not approved by US authorities in time, landing at Miami airport around half-time with Haitian soccer officials. Even so, Haiti started fast and kept going, turning a difficult travel week into a one-sided scoreline.
What happens next is clearer for Haiti than for New Zealand: Steve Clarke's side are due in Boston on 14 June, where Haiti will have to prove this was more than a sharp warm-up display.
