New Zealand scored deep into stoppage time to earn their first ever World Cup point with a 1-1 draw against Slovakia on Tuesday.
A winning header from Slovak striker Robert Vittek in the 50th minute was matched by another successful header, this time from New Zealand’s Winston Reid, in the dying seconds of the match.
The result, which follows Monday’s 1-1 draw between reigning champions Italy and Paraguay, means total deadlock in Group F, with all four teams level pegging on both points and goal difference. The draw also produced the first ever point for Slovakia as an independent nation at a World Cup. But that was of little consolation to a side that had been savouring the taste of victory until a few seconds before the final whistle.
In their only previous World Cup campaign, 1982 in Spain, New Zealand lost all of its three first round games. — DPA