Fifa World Cup 1982, Spain
All Whites 2 Scotland 5, La Rosaleda Stadium, Malaga
Trailing 3-0 at halftime – not the ideal start to a World Cup campaign. Playing at La Rosaleda Stadium in Malaga, New Zealand conceded the opening goal in the 18th minute when Liverpool great Kenny Dalglish took a simple touch in the box to split defenders into space and scored past Frank van Hattum. John Wark then pounced on a rebound off van Hattum on the half-hour mark before adding a third just three minutes later.
Steven Sumner scored New Zealand’s first World Cup goal in the 54th minute as he got ahead of a back pass before Wooddin added a second 10 minutes later to make it 3-2 – a left foot thunderbolt following a long ball that must be New Zealand’s best World Cup goal.
The All Whites had one opportunity to draw level but couldn’t take it and the Scots added two more. Hopes of a comeback were shut down when Scotland closed it out with a John Robertson free kick and a fifth from substitute Steve Archibald.
Steve Sumner puts the ball past Scotland’s goal keeper Alan Rough.
All Whites 0 Soviet Union 3, La Rosaleda Stadium, Malaga
New Zealand held their own in the first half at least. Kenny Cresswell went very close to opening the scoring early on – with a header cleared off the line. The Soviets had plenty of pace and it showed in their first goal in the 24th minute when a break into the box and finding an open man in the box – the initial shot was stopped by Yuri Gavrilov who then tapped in for the opener. Their second came shortly after halftime and again was a bit fortuitous with a wild swinging boot deflecting the ball into the path of Oleh Blokhin who slotted it by van Hattum. Sergei Baltacha added a third in the 68th minute to secure the Soviet Union victory after losing 2-1 to Brazil in their opener.
A second defeat left the All Whites bottom of the table needing a victory over Brazil by at least two goals to give them a chance of making the knockout round.
All Whites 0 Brazil 4, Estadio Benito Villamarín, Seville
At the time, Brazil were three-time champions and were stacked with the effortless magnificence of Socrates, Zico, Falcao, Eder, Cerezo and Junior and it really was a question of by how many goals they would win the final group game.
The All Whites at least held them off for the first 28 minutes before Zico volleyed a cross from inside the box by the outstretched hand of van Hattum to open the scoring. Slick passing on the counter-attack produced more space for Zico to add a second just three minutes later. And just like that New Zealand were 2-0 down. Ten minutes into the second half, Falcao broke free down the righthand side and beat van Hattum on the near post to make it 3-0 before Serginho finished off some great passing in the 70th minute.
One All White who faced them in Seville recalled they never called to each other for the ball, it was all instinct; they knew where their nearest teammate was.
That was the All Whites’ last defeat at a World Cup.
Brazil’s Serginho jumps high to head the ball, but New Zealand goalkeeper Frank van Hattum deflects, assisted by Ricki Herbert.
Fifa World Cup 2010, South Africa
The All Whites secured their spot at just a second World Cup after beating Bahrain in the inter-confederation play-offs – with a 1-0 victory in Wellington on the back of a 0-0 first leg result in Riffa.
All Whites 1 Slovakia 1, Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
The Wall St Journal said this would be the biggest dud of the tournament. How wrong it was. The All Whites trailed 1-0 going into injury time, courtesy of a Robert Vittek header in the 50th minute when Winston Reid gave the Slovakian too much space. Then Reid made up for it with a dramatic 92nd-minute header from a desperate but well-executed cross from Shane Smeltz, which earned New Zealand a draw and with it a competition point.
As Herald reporter Michael Brown pointed out in his report: “That’s the first point New Zealand have ever grabbed at a World Cup. Ever.”
Read more on the game and Winston Reid’s goal:
Winston Reid: ‘This was the most important goal of my life’
All Whites make history with late goal
The Herald’s front page on the day of the match.
All Whites 1 Italy 1, Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
The All Whites were buoyed by the result against Slovakia, but they faced a formidable foe in their next match – reigning World Cup champions Italy. Prime Minister John Key was in the stands in Nelspruit to watch the team hold the Italians to a 1-1 draw, a result he described as “just sensational”.
Smeltz stunned the Azzurri in the seventh minute pouncing on a long Simon Elliott free-kick, which Italy skipper Fabio Cannavaro bundled before Smeltz got a toe on the ball by goalie Federico Marchetti. Stunning scenes. Italy hit the post before Tommy Smith was judged to have brought down Daniele De Rossi in the box for a penalty (VAR would likely overturn these days). Vincenzo Iaquinta converted the penalty and New Zealand’s lead had lasted 22 brilliant minutes.
But Mark Paston and the All Whites defence held strong before New Zealand teenage substitute Chris Wood went half a metre away from securing a late winner with his shot from outside the box going across the face of goal.
Herald reporter Michael Brown summed up the result in the following terms: “Little old New Zealand with just 25 professional footballers – Italy has 3541. A country which had played just four World Cup matches before this morning drew with one which has won four World Cup titles. Crazy.”
Read more on the game:
Stuart Dye: We wanted a result… we got one
All Whites v Italy: And the Oscars go to…
The Herald front page after the Italy draw.
All Whites 0 Paraguay 0, Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane
Almost unbelievably, the All Whites went into their third pool game with a genuine chance of qualifying for the second round of the tournament. The formula was simple – win and progress. They couldn’t quite do it, but managed to hold on for a 0-0 draw to come away from the tournament with an unbeaten record.
Herald reporter Michael Brown summarised the All Whites’ achievement: “The All Whites’ run at the World Cup was one of the most wonderful rides in New Zealand sports history and there is no disgrace in going out of the tournament in the manner they did. They go home undefeated – who picked that before the tournament – and put New Zealand football on the map. Some people around the world might now know exactly where on that map New Zealand is.”
Read more on the match: