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All Whites 1:1 Italy - Match Report

All Whites players celebrate Shane Smeltz’ goal during the

World Cup group match against Italy in Nelspruit.

Take a look at the points table. Look again. Sitting in second, equal with Italy, are New Zealand.

Little, old New Zealand with just 25 professional footballers - Italy has 3541. A country which had played just four World Cup matches before this morning drew with one which has won four World Cup titles. Crazy.

If the Slovakia result was incredible, this is truly mind-blowing and they still have a genuine chance of progressing to the second round - although Paraguay looked slick in their 2-0 defeat of Slovakia. That would be one of the biggest surprises in World Cup history, much like the US beating England in 1950.

If they did that, the whole team should be knighted. At least coach Ricki Herbert and captain Ryan Nelsen.

The really crazy thing is, New Zealand could have won beaten Italy. Yes, they were under immense pressure for most of the game, but the goal they conceded, a 29th minute Vincenzo Iaquinta penalty, was extremely soft.

Midfielder Daniele Di Rossi, all 85kg of snarling Italian cabanossi, went down like he had been tackled by All Black Ma'a Nonu.

All Whites defender Tommy Smith naively tugged his shirt, but this happens virtually any time a ball is played into the box, and Di Rossi fell like his legs had been taken from under him. He was clearly looking for a penalty and the referee duly obliged.

In fact, the referee obliged most times the Italians wanted a free-kick. They went down clutching anything if they tangled with Rory Fallon, clearly looking to diffuse the tall striker's effectiveness. Fallon has a tendency to go up with his arms, which invites inspection, but the Guatemalan referee bought everything.

It totally negated Fallon's, and New Zealand's game in the first half. They need to bring a physicality to the match along with their aerial ability and when both are refereed out of the match they have little left.

In some respects, the penalty might have evened things up because there was an element of controversy to New Zealand's goal.

The All Whites had taken an unlikely seventh-minute lead through Smeltz when he stabbed home from close range. The two-time A-League golden boot winner looked to be offside but only if Winston Reid flicked Simon Elliott's free-kick on and replays weren't conclusive.

Regardless, it stunned the healthy crowd at the impressive Mbombela Stadium and for a second - maybe four - New Zealand fans could be heard over the drone of the vuvuzelas.

It just spurred Italy into action. They were wounded. They don't lose to teams ranked 73 places behind them.

They attacked down New Zealand's left, floating balls in behind Tony Lochhead, and peppered Mark Paston's goal. He slapped away one free-kick and watched a swerving Riccardo Montolivo effort from 35 yards cannon off his upright.

The All Whites had little possession but they battled manfully. This is a resilient New Zealand side who quite enjoy making history.

The All Whites were much better in the second spell and soaked up tremendous pressure. They enjoyed decent periods of possession and Ivan Vicelich smacked one volley narrowly wide and Chris Wood saw his shot shave the upright.

Paston brilliantly saved another Montolivo screamer and the defence was constantly scrambling, but they kept Italy at bay. Ryan Nelsen was once again brilliant in defence and Simon Elliott, all 36 years of him, was a study of control in the centre of the park.

In fact, they were all brilliant, because this was a brilliant result. Remember this day, and keep the points table. History is a wonderful thing. 

Story Courtesy of NZ Herald, Michael Brown (21.06.2010). www.nzherald.co.nz 

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