Italy vs New Zealand – Match Review
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Italy has faltered in its quest for back-to-back World Cups after being held by New Zealand, 1-1, at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.
With the Italians getting off to a shaky start in the 2010 FIFA World Cup with another 1-1 against Paraguay, many football pundits expected the Azzurri to get its World Cup campaign back on track against the All Whites.
However, New Zealand’s return from the global football wilderness rose to a new level when the Oceanians won a free-kick in a seemingly harmless position in the seventh minute.
The ball was driven into the Italian penalty area by Simon Elliot where Winston Reid, the scorer of New Zealand’s last-gasp goal against Slovakia, managed to head it forward with the faintest of touches.
The slight deflection caught Fabio Cannavaro off guard as the ball bashed against the thigh of the Italian captain and into the path of Shane Smeltz, who poked the ball home past Federico Marchetti whilst inside the six-yard box.
The goal may come under some scrutiny though, as Shane Smeltz seemed to be in an offside position when Winston Reid got his touch to set up the Kiwi striker for his first goal of the tournament.
Euphoria set in for the All Whites, but they could’ve lost the lead as soon as they gained it with Riccardo Montolivo’s free-kick needing to be beaten away from Kiwi ’keeper, Mark Paston.
Following a Giorgio Chiellini wayward volley, Gianluca Zambrotta’s drive from well outside the area sailed just over the top corner with Paston presumably beaten.
By this point, Italy had gained the upper hand in midfield and it should’ve equalised when a sumptuous Montolivo strike from approximately 30 metres out thudded against the post with Paston despairingly rooted to the spot.
Italy only had to wait another two minutes to restore parity when Daniele De Rossi won a penalty for the reigning champions after he had his shirt tugged inside the box by Tommy Smith.
Up stepped Vincenzo Iaquinta who coolly sent Paston the wrong way with a clinical sidefooted spot-kick to level the scores at 1-1.
At the stroke of half-time, New Zealand needed the intervention of Paston again when De Rossi’s regulation shot couldn’t beat the kiwi goalkeeper.
The second half was mainly one way traffic for the four-time world champions with Paston producing more heroics despite Italy’s attempts to force the issue.
Paston continued to make a case of keeping out the suspended Kiwi goalkeeper, Glen Moss, when he becomes eligible to play in New Zealand’s next match against Paraguay.
Yet, the New Zealand #1 had to be alert to Italy’s forays forward as Antonio Di Natale, Montolivo and Mauro Camoranesi tried their luck; however, it seemed that the inspired Paston wasn’t about to concede a goal from open day any time soon.
New Zealand had two fantastic chances to steal victory from the more-fancied Italians, yet Ivan Vicelich and Chris Wood failed to see their shots hit the target as the game ended 1-1, much to the delight of the All Whites crowd.
The draw means that both sides will need to win their last matches to advance to the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup.
However, with Italy and New Zealand facing stern tests in Slovakia and Paraguay respectively, there are no guarantees that either will progress despite each side avoiding defeat thus far in South Africa 2010.
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