Herbert: Bring on Italy   18 Jun 2010

New Zealand came into the 2010 World Cup as the third lowest-ranked nation of the 32 competing teams - at No.78 on FIFA's official rankings - yet in its first game it scored a dramatic injury-time equaliser courtesy of young gun Winston Reid to snatch a draw with a Slovakian side ranked 44 places higher.

With Italy drawing 1-1 with Paraguay in the other group game, that left all four teams in Group F locked on one point each after the first round of matches.

And if the All Whites could pull off another draw or even a shock win against Italy they would have a great chance of reaching the knockout stages of the world's biggest sporting event for the first time.

However, while the 2006 World Cup champion will go in as the hottest of favourite, All Whites coach Ricki Herbert says his much-improved team is ready to pull off another shock result.

"We expect to be competitive [against any opposition] at the end of the day because that is what we are all here for," he said.

"We are here to do the best we possibly can and we are right in this group, all four teams are level [after the first round of matches] and who would have thought that."

"So we have got a chance for it [to reach the second round by finishing in the top two in the group]."

"We have got two big hurdles to go [in Italy and Paraguay] and if they prove too big for us then they are too big but they will certainly know they have been in a football match."

New Zealand last met Italy a year ago when the All Whites took on the Azzurri in a warm-up game in South Africa prior to last year's Confederations Cup when the Kiwis gave their prestigious opposition the fright of their lives.

On that occasion Italy won 4-3 but only after trailing on three occasions as Chris Killen - who starred in the opening World Cup game against Slovakia - scored twice.

Herbert said that experience would ensure his players would be unfazed at coming up against the Italians once again in Nelspruit on Sunday.

"I am sure the Italians will be hoping to secure three points but we are really looking forward to it," Herbert said.

"We will be up for it and we played them before the Confederations Cup here last year so there is a little bit of synergy and relationship we have with them there but we have the utmost respect for them."

And Herbert vowed to stick with his attacking philosophy of playing three strikers in Killen, Shane Smeltz and Rory Fallon against the Italians saying it was vital the All Whites played to their strengths - which is their powerful attack.

"No disrespect to our group but we don't have 23 players playing in the Italian first division [Serie A] or the English Premier League," he said.

"What we do have is some exceptional frontrunners [strikers] from a New Zealand point of view and we have supported and adapted and worked with them and elected to go with them and they are all good [players] in that front third of the pitch."

SOURCE : Sportal

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