Nelsen: ‘It is down to spirit’

The All Whites defied the odds to claim their first FIFA World Cup point thanks to Winston Reid’s stoppage time equaliser against the highly-rated Slovakians on Tuesday.Nelsen says New Zealand had done more than enough to earn a point in their first World Cup appearance since suffering defeats by Scotland, Brazil and the Soviet Union…

Young defender Winston Reid scored a dramatic last-minute equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw against Slovakia and fans reacted as if their team had won.Most watched the game – which started at 11.30pm on Tuesday local time – at home, although some diehards gathered in bars around the country as football fever for once eclipsed…

The Denmark-based defender found the net from a perfectly-flighted Shane Smeltz cross in the 93rd minute to give the Kiwis an improbable 1-1 draw against a dominant Slovakia side in their Group F opener in Rustenburg.Robert Vittek had put the Europeans in front, also with his head, in the 50th minute but the All Whites…

But at 1.25pm in Rustenburg, as the New Zealand national anthem reverberated around the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Ryan Nelsen was fighting – and fighting hard – to hold back tears. For, following 11 years as an international footballer, he was finally set to appear on a stage few could have ever envisaged a Kiwi team…

The All Whites are appearing in the finals for only the second time and, having lost all three matches in Spain in 1982, are still looking for a first point on football’s biggest stage. “There are a few nerves, a sense of anticipation,” admitted Herbert. “But that is not a bad thing. The players are…

Messages have been flooding in to the team via letters, email, Facebook and Twitter and skipper Nelsen says the backing since the team assembled in mid-May has been overwhelming. “It’s fantastic. Even back in New Zealand we could feel the support,” Nelsen said at a press conference following a team training session at match venue…

The imposing marksman has already played two of his West Bromwich Albion team mates – Slovenia’s Robert Koren and Chile’s Gonzalo Jara – during the build-up to South Africa and could face another in the Pool F opener in Rustenburg.“I’ve only got to face [Slovakia defender] Marek Cech on Tuesday now and I will complete…

Oceania Football Confederation men’s player of the year and the squad’s most capped player Ivan Vicelich (66 caps) will partner Simon Elliott – who is only three caps behind the Auckland City captain – in the centre of midfield.The rest of the team has a settled look about it after encouraging performances against Australia, Serbia…

Today, New Zealand will finally make their long-awaited FIFA World Cup comeback exactly 28 years to the day since a group of amateur players from the ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ took their place alongside the globe’s elite.Much has changed for the All Whites since that hot European summer nearly three decades ago, and…

A shoulder injury to Tim Brown – whose participation in the whole tournament could be in doubt – has created a problem for Herbert ahead of Tuesday’s Group F clash against Slovakia in Rustenburg.Brown and former English Premier League player Simon Elliott had formed an impressive combination at the heart of the All Whites midfield…