Italy held to draw by Paraguay

Italy1 Paraguay 1 Match commentary

The All Whites' group at the World Cup is wide open after a 1-1 draw between their rivals Italy and Paraguay.

Both teams were widely predicted to be the two countries to advance to the second round, but their draw might just open up the door for a third country to get into the mix.

If New Zealald would be able to shock the footballing world and beat Slovakia in Rustenburg tonight it would take the lead in Group F.

Italy did most of the running in the rain-drenched Green Point stadium in Cape Town, but Paraguay took a surprising 1-0 lead when defender Antolin Alcaraz headed home a beautiful Aureliano Torres free kick.

Italy piled on the pressure after the break, but needed a goalkeeping error to get back on level terms.

Experienced goalkeeper Justo Villar underestimated a corner by Simone Pepe and Daniel de Rossi was on the spot to stab home the equaliser at the far post.

Both had chances to take the win, but the draw leaves Group F in an interesting state if either New Zealand or Slovakia managed to upset the form book.

If either team managed to get all three points tomorrow, the pressure on Italy will be huge to get a win against New Zealand, which would play into the hands of Ricki Herbert's men.

Honda drives Japan to win

Japan 1 Cameroon 0 Match commentary

Keisuke Honda carried Japan to their first World Cup finals victory on foreign soil when he scored the goal which beat Cameroon 1-0 in a Group E match this morning.

Paul Le Guen's Cameroon had been expected to ease to victory against an out-of-form Japan in what on paper appeared their easiest group fixture.

Takeshi Okada's Japan had other ideas and bustled their way to a deserved win to join the Netherlands as the day's Group E winners after the Dutch beat Denmark 2-0 in the early match.

""Recently our team has not been delivering very good results and to be honest the mood was not the best but ... our team delivered our best and this very good result today," man of the match Honda said.

A dour first half was briefly illuminated by Honda's 39th minute goal. Daisuke Matsui was allowed time and space on the right wing to float in a cross that evaded everyone but Honda at the far post, who finished neatly.

Cameroon had registered the game's first shot on goal shortly before Honda's strike but the Indomitable Lions failed on too many occasions to feed the ball to their front three.

They improved after the break with captain Samuel Eto'o beating four players down the right wing before setting up Eric Choupo Moting, who curled his shot wide of the far post.

Cameroon's Stephane Mbia hit the bar late on with a rasping 30-metre drive but the African side, who left normal first-choice midfielder Alexandre Song on the bench, did not threaten enough as Japan left Honda up front while the rest defended their lead.

Japan will again be underdogs in their next match against group favourites the Netherlands in Durban on Sunday.

"The next game we will be up against the Netherlands so we have to go further. This is the first win for us on foreign soil, but this is not an achievement for us at all, what is coming next is the point," Japan coach Okada said.

"Today our players have done a good job but what we have to do against the Netherlands was the immediate thought that I had after the game," he added.

Soccer: Nelsen tips new ball will worry cup keepers

All Whites skipper Ryan Nelsen predicts a rough ride for the World Cup goalkeepers because of the new football to be used in the tournament which starts next week.
But he and fellow veteran Simon Elliott have refused to join the controversy over the adidas Jabulani, which has been given a decent kicking by a host of players from other countries.
"It floats a bit differently and has its own unique trajectory. There could be some really interesting goals - the keepers are worried men. When you hit it right, it moves a mile," said Nelsen last night from Austria.
"In baseball you have what is called the knuckle ball and this ball can wobble like that. The keepers can't get set properly - they have to wait until the last moment.
"But you can control it. It just takes a while to get used to, although you feel it travels quicker sometimes compared to others, even though you hit it the same."We don't think of it as a problem though - just different. We were all talking about the ball the first day of training, not so much the second day, and now nobody brings it up."
Goalkeepers, including England's David James, would love to hurl the ball away because of its erratic behaviour and outfield players have also complained that it is hard to control, particularly at higher altitudes where many games in South Africa will be played.
Elliott, an international for 15 years, reckoned the fuss would die down come World Cup kick-off time.
"Before every World Cup someone says the ball is doing this and that. When the tournament hits, everyone forgets about it.
"If the ball flies a bit differently and there are more goals scored, that's good. We've got good strikers so it won't worry us."
Meanwhile Nelsen will reassess his All Whites role after the World Cup.
He said a World Cup appearance had always been his goal. "I'll sit down and have a little reflect afterwards," he said. "While I'm playing I'll always be open to New Zealand football although maybe not in the same role."

All Blacks World Cup pool tickets sell out

The strong demand for All Blacks matches and seats at Eden Park has seen them oversubscribed as more than 600,000 ticket applications poured in during the first phase of sales for next year’s Rugby World Cup.

They were the hottest items as tournament officials looked at the washup to applications for venue and team pool packs which closed on May 21.

There were 125,000 applications for packs. In addition, 40,000 applications were received for the quarterfinal weekend packs in Wellington and Christchurch and the Bronze Final.

That meant a total demand for more than 600,000 seats which has delighted organisers.

"This is a great start and is clear evidence that both New Zealand and overseas fans will strongly support this tournament," Martin Snedden, CEO for Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011), said.

But there will be disappointment for some fans.

"There has been oversubscription for the Eden Park venue packs and also the New Zealand team pack. As well, there has been some specific seating category oversubscription within some other venue and team packs," Snedden said.

"It will not be possible to satisfy demand from all fans who applied in Phase 1. Unfortunately some people will be unsuccessful and, no doubt, will be disappointed. Where possible we will be going back to unsuccessful applicants with second chance pack offers."

In cases where demand exceeds availability, a randomisation process will determine success.

Successful applicants will have credit card payments deducted over the next month. All applicants - successful or otherwise - will receive written advice on the outcome of their applications by early July.

Overseas demand has been strong with the most popular team pool packs (aside from New Zealand), being England, Ireland, France, South Africa and Australia.

"Fans are realising how special this tournament will be in New Zealand and this bodes well for future ticketing phases and for the event itself," Snedden said.

"There has also been strong demand for quarter-final weekends packs in both Wellington and Christchurch. Demand for tickets at venues aside from Eden Park, has been solid and in line with expectations."

The second phase of RWC 2011 ticketing, involving the sale of individual match tickets (excluding semifinals and the final) will most likely begin in September. Details of this phase will to be confirmed in July.

Ad Feedback The third phase - a ballot for tickets to the semifinals and the final – will take place in early 2011.