All Whites coach Fritz Schmid wants a more ruthless approach from his team when they tackle Chinese Taipei in their second game at the Intercontinental Cup in in Mumbai early on Wednesday.
Ranked 133rd in the world, New Zealand lost 2-1 to 111th-ranked Kenya in their opening game of the four-nation tournament on Sunday.
Defender Adam Mitchell playing for the All Whites Photo: Photosport
Teenage midfielder Sarpreet Singh's well-timed finish put the All Whites ahead 1-0 late in the first half, but Kenya equalised on the stroke of halftime before netting the winner with around 20 minutes remaining.
Schmid says his young charges must learn from the disappointing result.
"I would hope that tomorrow we show a little bit more of this maturity and this cold blood around the box should we get the same amount of scoring opportunities," he said.
"What we learned from the game is if you are in control and if you create scoring opportunities, you'd better put the ball in the net because it might cost you."
Schmid says the All Whites made too many mistakes, but he's confident they will improve against Chinese Taipei.
"You learn most from failure. As much as it hurts, and as much as we would like to have a positive result, I hope that will stick."
Ranked 121st in the world, Chinese Taipei were thumped 5-0 by No.97 India in their first match in Mumbai.
However, Schmid still rates the Asian team and says they're an organised, outfit with mobile and skilful strikers.
"They're very solid, strong physically, and they are very compact.
"It will be interesting to see how we can hold up physically, because with our players coming out of off-season, and even holidays, we might have to be aware of certain players getting to the limit in terms of fitness and pace."
