Shock Draw with Champs

The All Whites have astonished the international football fraternity drawing 1-1 with World Cup holders Italy in South Africa. Reuters has put the result in its top 1 World Cup shocks, the only draw to be included on the list. While the BBC concluded: “They have taken the field in just four World Cup finals — Italy have won the tournament four times — but New Zealand still managed to earn a draw. New Zealand is unbeaten in the competition, and the All Whites are upstaging their more celebrated footballing neighbours, the Australian Socceroos, who have struggled in the tournament.” USA Today quoted captain Ryan Nelsen: “[Nelsen] defended his team’s tough approach, which clearly upset the Italy players in the first half after some robust aerial challenges from striker Rory Fallon. ‘We’re strong, we’re good in the air,’ Nelsen said. ‘That’s part of the game. It’s not being negative, it’s just a strength of ours.’”