Dizzle.
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Fantastic, knew Smeltz would do the business 
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*Official Match Thread...ITALY v NEW ZEALAND*
- Thread starter 1066familyman
- Start date
Tyrone Biggums
Well-known member
With quite a few of the NZ players and their manager plying their trade in the A-League over here it shows it's not the dogs balls league some people make it out to be.
Brilliant effort by the Kiwis and I hope they can get through to the next round.
Brilliant effort by the Kiwis and I hope they can get through to the next round.
This in the nz herald
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.
Soccer: All Whites hold on for stunning draw - Sport - NZ Herald News
ONLY 25 PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS!! That's incredible!! This will do the game in nz no end of good.
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.
Soccer: All Whites hold on for stunning draw - Sport - NZ Herald News
ONLY 25 PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS!! That's incredible!! This will do the game in nz no end of good.