Colombia, fueled by a debut goal from Gustavo Puerta, defeated New Zealand 2-1 on Saturday in a friendly clash between World Cup-bound teams in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.<\/p>\n
Puerta, 22, opened the scoring in the third minute and Johan Carbonero sealed the win in the 88th — eight minutes after Benjamin Old had pulled New Zealand level.<\/p>\n
Puerta’s early strike, off a precise cross from Jhon Arias, disrupted New Zealand, who struggled to find an immediate response.<\/p>\n
They regrouped in the second half and were able to capitalize on lax Colombian defending to grab the equalizer.<\/p>\n
Old, who had come on in the 64th minute, received a cross and only needed to tap in to level the score.<\/p>\n
New Zealand had threatened moments earlier as Jesse Randall, Storm Roux and Sarpreet Singh combined only for the final shot to sail wide.<\/p>\n
“New Zealand had a good strategy and competed very well physically,” Colombia manager Nestor Lorenzo said. “They challenged us several times.”<\/p>\n
Colombia pressed quickly for a winner. A long ball from Yerry Mina landed at Carbonero’s feet and he eluded two defenders to score just 10 minutes after entering the game.<\/p>\n
Both teams’ 2026 World Cup preparations continue on Tuesday, when Colombia face Australia at Citi Field in New York and New Zealand play Ecuador in Harrison, New Jersey.<\/p>\n
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