#28: NZ hold champion Italy to 1-1 draw

AP

Nelspruit, South Africa, 20 June 2010: Defending champion Italy were held to a second 1-1 draw, this time by lowly New Zealand in the latest World Cup stunner.

The 78th-ranked All Whites took the lead after only seven minutes of Sunday’s Group F match, when Italy’s 36-year-old captain Fabio Cannavaro made a horrendous error, handing a goal to Shane Smeltz.

 

 

Riccardo Montolivo hit the goalpost for Italy in the 27th, then Vincenzo Iaquinta equalized two minutes later with a penalty kick. Tommy Smith was given a yellow card for tugging down Daniele De Rossi inside the area on a corner kick.

Paraguay lead the group with four points, Italy and New Zealand have two points each and Slovakia is last with one point.
Italy meets Slovakia in its final group match on Thursday and New Zealand faces Paraguay.