Football Mayhem

“New Zealand is in the grip of World Cup fever and while the likes of Rory Fallon and Chris Killen might barely raise a glance as players in Plymouth or Middlesbrough, they cannot walk the streets of Auckland without being mobbed,” writes Joe Bernstein for the UK’s Daily Mail. “It is a bemusing yet thrilling experience for a collection of journeymen footballers whose only recognisable international is Blackburn defender Ryan Nelsen.” For Fallon, 28, June’s Cup is a dream come true. “My career has been a battle for more than 1 years,” Fallon says. “I’ve done all right but never reached my true potential. I’m a target man but still feel I should have scored more goals. I want to show what I can do in the World Cup. We’ve been staggered by the interest in New Zealand. I’d always been able to walk down the streets unnoticed. Suddenly, people are doing a double-take, recognising me and wishing me luck.” The All Whites lost 2—1 to Australia in a FIFA World Cup warm-up match in Melbourne, but beat Serbia 1— in the southern Austrian city of Klagenfurt thanks to a 23rd-minute strike by Shane Smeltz.