The OlyWhites have tasted defeat in their build up to the Tokyo Olympics, falling 1-0 to Australia in Ichihara.
Days on from the 2-0 victory over the same opposition, New Zealand's OlyWhites couldn't repeat their feat, with Australian forward Mitchell Duke scoring the only goal of the game in the third minute.
Duke, 30, fired the ball home past Kiwi keeper Michael Woud, as New Zealand deployed an unchanged starting side from Monday night (NZ time).
Despite the defeat though, coach Danny Hay saw plenty of positives for his young side, with now less than a week until the Tokyo Olympics football tournament begins.
"Obviously [it's] disappointing to lose a football match first and foremost," Hay said post-match.
"The manner of the goal is not ideal, but we've seen that happen at every level of the game. It's just one of those things that happens to goalkeepers from time to time.
"But look, the way the boys rallied, they didn't lose any confidence, they didn't drop their heads. They really worked their way back into the game.
"I thought particularly the second half we were excellent. [We] created some really good opportunities towards the back end of the game and probably a little unlucky not to come out of the game with something at least."
The OlyWhites begin their tournament against South Korea on July 22, played at Ibaraki Kashima Stadium.
Honduras and Romania are the other two sides in New Zealand's group.
