Ricki Herbert, New Zealand coach
I think our entire country, which numbers four million inhabitants, came to a stop to watch our performance. It’s an incredible result for football in New Zealand. It’s historic and greater than anything else we’ve ever achieved when you consider the standing of our opponents. From now on, everything is possible, and we’re doing pretty well for a team that according to some people had no place at this World Cup.
Marcello Lippi, Italy coach
We didn’t get a lot of luck but we didn’t create much either. This is the second time that our opponents have put a ball in the box and we’ve conceded a goal. After that happened, we pulled ourselves together and put everything into attacking. The players didn’t lack desire, just clear-headedness. We now have to win the last match and roll up our sleeves because we have no intention of going home.
Daniele De Rossi, Italy midfielder and Man of the Match
We’ll have to improve quickly because otherwise we won’t be going far. We weren’t at our best and we can do a lot better than that. It’s not a problem with our forwards – it’s the whole team that didn’t play well. We spent most of the game in their half and had some good chances but it wasn’t enough. In particular, free-kicks have caused us problems since the start of the tournament.
Fabio Cannavaro, Italy defender and captain
We have a lot of regrets because our opponents never came close to our area aside from their two chances. Our team looked to react and score but it wasn’t easy as all their players were behind the ball. We’re not giving up, though, and we’re here to win.
Ryan Nelsen, New Zealand defender and captain
It perhaps wasn’t the game of the century in terms of spectacle but we showed an enormous amount of hunger and determination. It leaves me speechless when I think about what we’ve accomplished thanks to everyone’s dedication to the team as a whole. We’ve given ourselves a chance of reaching the next round and that’s an exciting challenge. All we can do now is give everything to seize that chance in the last match.
Riccardo Montolivo, Italy midfielder
The midfielders need to help out the forwards more by moving further up the pitch and shooting more often. We can’t think about the next round now – we need to think about winning on Thursday against Slovakia and scoring without conceding. We absolutely have to win.
Gianluca Zambrotta, Italy defender
We conceded a goal from one of only two New Zealand chances, and as against Paraguay it came from a free-kick. We had a lot of chances but their goalkeeper was excellent and we also hit a post. Not everything was bad about how we played. We have to look ahead because it’s still very possible for us to qualify.
Story and photo courtesy of www.fifa.com