Kiwis pull off shock draw vs Italians

NELSPRUIT, South Africa – Defending champion Italy was held to another 1-1 draw Sunday, this time by New Zealand, in the latest World Cup surprise.

The 78th-ranked All Whites took the lead in the seventh minute when the ball glanced off 36-year-old Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, gifting a goal to Shane Smeltz. A long free kick from Simon Elliott sailed deep into Italy’s area, deflected off Cannavaro’s hip and went directly toward the waiting Smeltz for the tap in.

Riccardo Montolivo hit the post for Italy in the 27th, and Vincenzo Iaquinta equalized two minutes later with a penalty, after Tommy Smith was shown a yellow card for tugging down Daniele De Rossi inside the area.

“We’re just sorry we didn’t win a match we could have,” Italy coach Marcello Lippi said. “If we didn’t win against New Zealand it’s our fault. Once again the opponent scored on their first chance. We were able to control the game after that, but this was a match we should have won.”

Iaquinta appeared to celebrate as if he were blowing a vuvuzela, the plastic trumpets that have become a symbol of the World Cup. (AP)

At the final whistle, however, the celebration was located in one corner of the Mbombela Stadium, where a small section of New Zealand fans marked their country’s historic result by taking their shirts off and waving them around deliriously.

“I think that stopped the nation,” New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert said. “It’s the most incredible result we’ve had across the board. As a football coach, it’s way above anything we’ve achieved in the history of the game.

“We are always daring to dream. At the World Cup anything is possible - we’ve seen some strange results - but nothing as big as that one.”

Iaquinta complemented New Zealand’s defense and called it a shame to draw.

“We’ve got to keep our heads up and move on,” he said.

Long after the game ended, New Zealand fans remained inside the stadium, moving down to the lower level to continue celebrating, waving flags and blowing on vuvuzelas as the All White reserves played a training match.

Playing in only its second World Cup - having lost all three of its matches in 1982 - New Zealand gained a point for the second consecutive game after also drawing 1-1 with Slovakia in its opener.

New Zealand goalkeeper Mark Paston was virtually flawless, preserving the draw with a leaping save on a long, powerful effort from Montolivo in the 70th.

Italy controlled virtually throughout, but New Zealand nearly won when substitute Chris Wood sent an angled shot just wide in the 83rd.

Paraguay leads Group F with four points, followed by Italy and New Zealand with two points each. Slovakia is last with one point.

Italy meets Slovakia in its final group match on Thursday. New Zealand faces Paraguay.

Italy was also held to a 1-1 draw by Paraguay in its opener. The Azzurri looked sharper than they did against the South Americans but couldn’t beat the physical and tall New

Zealand players in the air and again had a tough time weaving their way through to the goal.

Lippi lamented the way his players continually resorted to high balls, something he had been wary of in the match buildup.

Italy also struggled in the air against New Zealand a year ago, falling behind twice before pulling out a 4-3 win in a friendly before the Confederations Cup.

“They weren’t as lucid or as enterprising as they should have been,” Lippi said of his players. “Again we were very unfortunate. It’s not like we didn’t do great things, although you always need to do more.”

Italy hasn’t won since beating Sweden 1-0 in a friendly in November, a streak of five games that includes four draws and a 2-1 loss to Mexico in a World Cup warmup.

Italy concluded with three strikers on the field - Iaquinta and substitutes Antonio Di Natale and Giampaolo Pazzini - but often appeared confused in attack.

Lippi had no excuses, despite missing his top two players - with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and midfielder Andrea Pirlo both injured. Buffon could miss the rest of the tournament due to a herniated disk.

Both teams pushed forward from the start but were unable to create any clear chances until New Zealand took the lead on a set piece - exactly what Italy was concerned of before the game, considering the physical attributes of the tall All Whites.

The goal was New Zealand’s only shot on goal the entire match.

Italy didn’t get a good look at the goal until the 16th minute when Giorgio Chiellini missed the target with an awful shot from close range. Right back Gianluca Zambrotta then attempted to equalize with a long shot in the 22nd but just missed the top corner, drawing a gasp from the crowd, which clearly featured more Italy supporters.

After Iaquinta’s equalizer, the Azzurri kept up the pressure, but Domenico Criscito missed a long shot high in the 31st and Paston had some trouble batting away an attempt by De Rossi from beyond the area in the 45th.

Italy wore black armbands in memory of former national team defender Roberto Rosato, who died Sunday at the age of 66.

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Lineups:

Italy: Federico Marchetti, Gianluca Zambrotta, Giorgio Chiellini, Fabio Cannavaro, Domenico Criscito, Daniele De Rossi, Riccardo Montolivo, Claudio Marchisio (Giampaolo Pazzini, 61), Simone Pepe (Mauro Camoranesi, 46), Vincenzo Iaquinta, Alberto Gilardino (Antonio Di Natale, 46).

New Zealand: Mark Paston, Tony Lochhead, Winston Reid, Ivan Vicelich (Jeremy Christie 81), Ryan Nelsen, Simon Elliott, Shane Smeltz, Chris Killen (Andy Barron, 90), Leo Bertos, Rory Fallon (Chris Wood, 63), Tommy Smith.

AP-TK-20-06-10 1651GMT<