New Zealand Ties Italy, 1-1, And the Azzurri Are In Trouble

Nine times out of ten, Italy doesn't tie New Zealand, and New Zealand doesn't tie Italy. Today's 1-1 draw was the one time in ten, and the All Whites and Azzurri are all level in Group F after two games. It's incredible: The defending World Cup champions are tied with a team that scored its first-ever first half World Cup goal just today.

That's partly because of both the resilience of the Kiwis and the rather uninspired Italian attack so far. Italy's fallen behind both Paraguay and New Zealand, given up as many goals in the field through 180 minutes as they conceded in the entire 2006 World Cup. But New Zealand, which recorded a -10 goal differential in its only other World Cup in 1982, has outperformed all expectations to this point.

It's a dream for the Kiwis and a nightmare for the Italians. But it could get worse for New Zealand and better for the Azzurri: New Zealand faces powerful Paraguay in its last match, and Italy must only beat a Slovakia team that has underperformed to guarantee advancement to the knockout rounds. Second place in Group F, though, would get the Italians a match against the winners of Group E—chances are, that will be the Dutch, who haven't impressed and are playing without Arjen Robben, yet are still one of two teams with two wins in this World Cup.

Italy's chances of repeating as World Cup champions are dwindling. For New Zealand, contributing to that might well be seen as a win.

(Also, "Wavin' Flag" still rules.)