Defender Tommy Smith says he and his New Zealand team-mates will be out to continue surprising people in their remaining two World Cup group games. The All Whites recorded their first ever World Cup point yesterday as Winston Reid’s last-gasp equaliser saw them to a 1-1 draw against Slovakia.
Smith, whose side face Italy and Paraguay in their other two Group F fixtures, told the club site: "Scoring in the last minute, like we did, was fantastic and gave everyone that extra buzz.
"The atmosphere in the dressing room after the game was amazing. We were all singing and dancing around.
"To be in the first New Zealand team to pick up a point in World Cup football is unbelievable and I think we deserved the draw. They didn't cause us too many problems. It was a tight game and could have gone either way.
"It was a good start for us and obviously making sporting history for the country is great, but we haven't finished yet. There is no reason why we can't carry on surprising people and maybe even make the second round.
"I was relatively happy with my own performance but I will be looking to improve again when we face Italy in our next game."
Italy are New Zealand's second opponents in Nelspruit on Sunday, while they complete their opening phase matches against Paraguay in Polokwane on June 24th. Group F is currently all-square with each of the two games finishing 1-1.
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