AUCKLAND: New Zealand thrashed 10-man Chile 4-1 on Monday in Auckland in their last home match before the World Cup, their first win ever against South American opposition.

Fellow World Cup qualifiers Cape Verde earlier won a penalty shootout against Finland at Auckland’s Eden Park, having drawn their match 1-1.

Chile beat Cape Verde 4-2 on Friday but started poorly against the hosts with Dario Osorio sent off in the 27th minute after two yellow cards in quick succession.

The All Whites capitalised straight away, Kosta Barbarouses lashing home a volley from a 31st-minute corner, before Elijah Just added a second in the 40th minute.

It was 3-0 in the 60th minute when Jesse Randall scored from close range, and a fourth was fired home by substitute Ben Waine in the 71st minute. Gonzalo Tapia scored a consolation for Chile in the 83rd minute after a swift counterattack.

New Zealand will face Belgium, Iran and Egypt in the group phase this summer in North America.

Cape Verde came from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Finland, before winning the penalty shootout.

Finland were coming off a 2-0 win over New Zealand and went into half-time with the lead, Naatan Skytta scoring with the last kick of the half.

Cape Verde struck back in the 67th minute from a corner, Sidny Cabral finding Kelvin Pires at the far post to head home.

Marcio Rosa made two saves in the penalty shootout to secure Cape Verde the victory.

Cape Verde play Spain, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in their World Cup bow.

On Sunday, Desire Doue scored twice as France showcased their attacking firepower and strength in depth with a 3-1 friendly win over Colombia, in their final outing before coach Didier Deschamps names his World Cup squad.

Fielding an entirely different lineup from the first-choice side who beat Brazil 2-1 on Thursday, Les Bleus still proved too strong for Colombia, with Doue’s double and another goal from Marcus Thuram sealing a comfortable victory.

Jaminton Campaz pulled one back for Colombia, who were quickly overwhelmed despite a decent start.

Sometimes criticised for favouring cold calculation over flair, France over the course of two warm-up matches combined style with efficiency and head towards the June 11-July 19 World Cup with growing certainty ahead of Deschamps final tournament in charge.

“What we’ve produced over these two games is really interesting. We can’t wait to be in June,” said Rayan Cherki, who looked comfortable in France’s 4-2-3-1 formation.

Deschamps was equally positive in his assessment.

“A very positive sporting assessment against two very strong South American teams,” he said. “We gave a lot of players opportunities… the quality is there.”

After a lively opening spell, France took the lead through Doue, who fired a low strike into the bottom corner in the 29th minute to score his first international goal.

Five minutes before the break, Thuram dou­bled the advantage, powering a header in off the underside of the bar after meeting a superbly curled cross from Maghnes Akliouche.

Any doubt was effectively removed before the hour mark. Breaking quickly from the midfield, Akliouche began the move before Cherki released Thuram on the right, and the forward squared unselfishly for Doue to apply a clinical finish.

Just as Kylian Mbappe was about to come on as a late substitute, Campaz reduced the arrears with a precise angled shot.

Mbappe, as well as fellow substitute Hugo Ekitike, went close to adding a fourth in a frantic finish.

France will fine-tune their World Cup preparations against Ivory Coast in Nantes on June 4 and against another, as-yet-undetermined, opponent on June 8.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2026