FIFA World Cup 2010 update: New Zealand force Italy into a draw
World cup 2010 has turned up some remarkable results, but none to match the hard fought draw New Zealand earned against the defending world champions Italy.
Who could have thought the match would have ended in a one all draw at Nelspruit. Alas, a team with no pedigree in international football was not supposed to draw the absolute giants of the game.
The Azzuris tried all they could to get 3 points, in a desperate 2nd half where they threw everything but the kitchen sink at New Zealand. To their surprise, the all whites hung on as if it was a matter of life and death for them. In fact it would have been even better for New Zealand if Christopher Wood, the 18 year old forward, from West Bromwich had been able to use his left foot to good effect in the closing stages of the match to snatch a late winner. Nevertheless, a draw was a huge achievement for the team from down under.
Italy, the world champions who thrive in planning a match better than anyone in the game were simply short of ideas. That too against a team no one ever considered to be much of a match to the world champions. Now, after 2 draws in 2 games they find themselves in a do or die situation. The Azzuris have to win their final group game in order to make it to the final 16 of the world cup. The problem mainly lied in the midfield, which can be attributed to the absence of their most creative midfielder, Andrea Pirlo, as there were hardly any clear cut passes for the strikers to feed off.
Italy’s worst nightmare may come true if the all Whites, who were 2000 to 1 favourites to win the world cup, edge Italy out and move into the last 16. They need to get anything but 3 points in the last game. That is because, if New Zealand win against Paraguay and Italy get a draw at best, the Italians might soon be history, which will surely be the story of the world cup so far.
Before the match Italian coach Marcello Lippi had identified Arial balls as the biggest threat from New Zealand. Nobody had thought his prediction would soon be a ground reality. As Simon Elliot whipped in a free kick, the tall defender Winston Reid used every inch of his huge frame, and rose high over the Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro to guide the ball onto the path of Shane Smeltz, who made no mistake and scored to earn a 1-0 lead.
As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, the entire Azzuri squad turned towards the sideline referee, appealing for an offside, and replays suggested that they did have more than a case. Shane, in fact, was offside when he poked in the ball past Federico Marchetti, who was standing in for Italy’s number one Gianluigi Buffon. It was the 20th international goal for Shane in 37 appearances for his country.
Italy was shell shocked to a degree and tried to bounce back in minutes. Remarkably, Mark Paston, the opposition keeper was at his best and kept out an awkwardly bouncing free kick from Riccardo Montolivo. He made sure he did not parry it in the path of any of the Italians rushing towards him.
AC Milan's veteran defender, Gianluca Zambrotta, led some brilliant moves from the wind and also let lose a fierce shot in the 23rd minute which whistled past the post.
The Italian pressure finally paid off, as just after half an hour into the match, Tommy Smith had a moment of insanity and conceded a needless foul inside the box. De Rossi certainly looked to have made the most of his challenge.
Vincenzo Iaquinta made no mistake and calmly slotted the ball in the corner to level the match. Despite best efforts from Italy they could not get the winner, and now all depends on the final group game against Slovakia.
Tags: