POLOKWANE, South Africa, (Reuters) – Paraguay eased into the last 16 of the World Cup with an unadventurous draw against a New Zealand team that exit the tournament undefeated and with their heads held high.
Three draws, including a memorable 1-1 with world champions Italy, were above and beyond expectations for the Kiwis and they received an appreciative send off from their supporters at the end.
A team of very limited international experience and modest technical ability showed enough good organisation, discipline and effort in just their second World Cup finals to finish above the Italians in Group F.
“I think I need to pinch myself,” said New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert. “If you are going to exit the World Cup there are good ways of doing it.
“A lot of people thought we shouldn’t be here and that we had amateurs who were not up to it. But I think that’s dead and buried now.”
Paraguay created the better chances but, knowing a point was enough for them to secure passage to the second round, they took few risks and were rarely troubled by Herbert’s team who, for all their graft, did not manage a single shot on goal.
The only real moment of panic for Paraguay came with six minutes of regular time remaining when Shane Smeltz put a ball across the face of the goal and 18-year-old substitute Chris Wood, sliding in at the back post, almost reached it.
