Italy 1,New Zealand 1: One to forget,one to remember

Riccardo Montolivo hit the post for Italy in the 27th,and Vincenzo Iaquinta equalised two minutes later with a penalty,after Tommy Smith was shown a yellow card for tugging down Daniele De Rossi inside the area. Were just sorry we didnt win a match we could have, Italy coach Marcello Lippi said. If we didnt win against New Zealand,its 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. 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 countrys historic result by taking their shirts off and waving them around deliriously.

Celebrations

I think that stopped the nation, New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert said. Its the most incredible result weve had across the board. As a football coach,its way above anything weve achieved in the history of the game. We are always daring to dream. At the World Cup anything is possible weve seen some strange results but nothing as big as that one.

Iaquinta complemented New Zealands defence and called it a shame to draw. Weve 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 their second World Cup having lost all their three matches in 1982 New Zealand gained a point for the second consecutive game after drawing 1-1 with Slovakia in their 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.

Italy were also held to a 1-1 draw by Paraguay in their opening game. The Azzurri looked sharper than they did against the South Americans but couldnt 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 werent as lucid or as enterprising as they should have been, Lippi said of his players. Again we were very unfortunate. Its not like we didnt do great things,although you always need to do more.

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.