New Zealand Stuns Italy

This World Cup has not been kind to the soccer giants. Spain, Germany, France and England have all fallen to major upsets. Now add Italy to the list. In what is one of the biggest shocks of any World Cup, let alone South Africa 2010, the Kiwis hung on for a vital 1-1 tie against Italy. New Zealand, where there are only two professional clubs, came into the tournament ranked 78th in the world. Italy was fifth. The Kiwis took the lead in the seventh minute when they capitalized on a defensive error. Two minutes later, New Zealand made an error of its own when a defender dragged down Daniele DeRossi, giving away a penalty kick. Italy converted it, but the Kiwis defended doggedly for the rest of the game to throw Group F wide open. In the earlier game, Paraguay went top of the group by defeating Slovakia, 2-0.