Surman starts and plays 65 minutes in pre-World Cup warm-up match
Timbers defender Finn Surman continued his preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Tuesday night with an appearance in New Zealand's 4-0 friendly loss to Haiti at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
The game was delayed for 30 minutes due to lightning in the area. Surman started and played 65 minutes before being subbed out for Auckland FC's Nando Pijnaker.
Also of note for Timbers connections in the match and the now globally famous was the appearance of defender Tim Payne.
Payne, a member of Timbers2's inaugural squad in 2015, spent two seasons in the Rose City with the club's developmental team. Now a defender for the Australian A-League's lone New Zealand club, Wellington Phoenix, Payne has rocketed to popularity due to an Argentine influencer's quixotic quest to boost what he felt was the least known World Cup player. Payne, who early last week had a couple thousand followers on Instagram, now has over 4.6M.
Against Haiti, Payne joined Surman in the Starting XI and played the first half.
New Zealand will next play England in a their final warm-up match at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on June 7 at 1pm PT.
