Slovakia 1-1 New Zealand
My what a strange game. I listened to the second part of the first half - the bit after Ian Dennis took over on commentary and then I heard the Jacqui Oatley section of the second half before watching the rest of the game on the BBC with Ian Dennis and Graham Taylor for company. I think that the game was a bit of a curate's egg to be frank. The performance of both teams left a lot to be desired, but Slovakia will be more disappointed.
The group is now tied on one game, one goal and one point each - however, I don't see there being another draw unless Paraguay are held by Slovakia. So it begs the question, why did Slovakia perform so badly. Graham Taylor made an excellent point about teams setting out to not lose the first game. Trouble is, Slovakia are one of two teams who are likely to fight out for one qualifying spot. It begs the question then, why do you go out and play so poorly in a game that you know you need to win (against the team with little or no chance of qualifying) after your rivals for qualification have earned a deserved draw against the strongest team in the group?
For the record, Robert Vittek scored the opening goal on 50 minutes and Winston Reid waited until 90+3 before getting himself booked for taking his shirt off. Italy and Paraguay with 7 and (no less than) 5 points respectively to qualify from this group.
