"It gives us an insight into both of those sides," coach Ricki Herbert said. "It's been great to be here, it's been a terrific experience for everybody, and it gives us a taste of what it could be like should we be good enough to get through."
After experiencing that taste the team will hold no fear of sides from the region in any potential playoff, especially considering the weakened and youthful squad which earned the results in Texas.
Seven of the starting XI and five of the six substitutes against Honduras were 25 or under, and the victory was achieved without the influential trio of Ryan Nelsen, Winston Reid and Rory Fallon.
Cameron Howieson (17), Tim Payne (18), Ian Hogg (22) and Adam McGeorge (23) all wore the silver fern for the first time, while Tommy Smith (22) became the youngest ever captain of the national team.
Herbert paid tribute to the debutantes, and said introducing young talent was one of the most satisfying aspects of the tour.
"As an ex-All White, I'm really proud to see the depth and quality of the players coming through. I think that's an important job, and I'm pleased we've had the chance to blood them into this level of international football."
Herbert also backed his young guns to push some of the absent senior players for their places, with the likes of Tony Lochhead, Chris Killen and Simon Elliott left casting wary glances over their shoulders.
"It's not about the age, it's about the ability of the players," he said. "If some of these guys are good enough to be put in the team, we will [select them].
"We've played two teams that have got their full squads here, and they're ranked a lot higher than us, and we've gotten a lot of younger players onto the pitch who have developed themselves and done extremely well."
Despite making six changes throughout the match, the All Whites showed their mettle as Honduras piled on the pressure in the second half. Smith superbly marshalled the defence to ensure Smeltz's goal on the stroke of halftime was the winner, as the All Whites secured their first clean sheet since the 2010 World Cup.
Aaron Clapham was industrious in midfield in his first start for the side, while Chris Wood particularly impressed after replacing Smeltz at the break.
The task now is to maintain that level of performance and avoid any slip-ups against weaker opposition in the Solomon Islands, and make sure the lessons learned on this tour can be utilised in 18 months.
