The Junior All Whites' Under-20 World Cup hopes hang by a thread after losing 4-0 to the USA in Auckland on Tuesday.
New Zealand will now have to beat Myanmar convincingly, in Wellington on Friday, to have any chance of progressing beyond the group stages.
New Zealand can still progress even if it is ranked third in Group A. The winners and runners-up of each group automatically qualify, as well as the best four third-placed teams from pool play.
Teams are ranked according to points obtained, goal difference and the number of goals scored.
"It has obviously not gone the way we wanted to," New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley said after the match. "The boys are working really hard and it was a really tough game, I thought the USA played really well.
"If you look at their team sheet and who they have got playing for them, it is a massive, massive challenge for us. It's always going to be a massive challenge playing against a country that has 300 million people."
It was a match between the might and the professionalism of the US and the mostly amateur home team who were nonetheless buoyed by a crowd of 15,678 at North Harbour Stadium.
New Zealand were, for a large part of the match, stuck defending relentlessly in their own half. That meant errors and an inability to stop clever attacks by the Americans.
Had the Kiwis had more possession, or even got the ball down to their front men, it could have been a different story. The New Zealand midfield were stoic but couldn't match their much vaunted opposition, particularly US captain Emerson Hyndman.
If the New Zealanders could be praised for one thing it's their never say die attitude. The team appeared to come to life with 15 minutes to go with a number of shots, including two close chances for captain Bill Tuiloma. However, goals by the US in the sixth, 33rd, 58th and 83rd minutes sunk all hope.
Bazeley said his team still the chance to "make history" by becoming the first New Zealand team to win a match at an under-20 World Cup. He said it would be a matter of rebuilding confidence in a team disappointed by their performance.
"We need to win a match to get out of the group stage. We need to score a goal, win a match, and hopefully progress."
The Kiwismade one change to their starting line-up from the 0-0 draw with Ukraine on Saturday with Noah Billingsley coming in for Alex Rufer up front. They would have been prepared for a difficult match with the USA making their 13th appearance at an Under-20 World Cup.
The Americans were on the board in the sixth minute with New Zealand keeper Oliver Sail deflecting a booming shot initially, before Bradford Jamieson was given time to get on the end of a deflected header to score. The nerves of the New Zealand team looked frayed as a result and the USA's forward men were given plenty of time in front of goal.
Tuiloma made a break in the 26th minute but was stopped in his tracks by Matthew Miazga, who was given a yellow card as a result, but the subsequent free kick went over the crossbar. Hyndman was the next to score, in the 33rd minute, slotting an easy goal after Sail was unable to hold on to a long ball.
The Junior All Whites came out after the break with renewed vigour but their heads soon dropped when Paul Arriola, who had been difficult to control all night, scored in the 58th minute - his shot ricocheting off a post and into the back of the net.
A period of pressure by the All Whites was undone minutes later when Rubio Rubin was allowed to slot in between two defenders and score on 83 minutes.
USA 4: (B. Jamieson 6', E. Hyndman 33', P. Arriola 58', R.Rubin 83') NZ: 0. HT: USA 2-0
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