It was hard to know whether to be happy or sad when the final whistle sounded at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on June 24, to signal the end of a scoreless battle between Paraguay and New Zealand. Sad because the result signalled the end of the All Whites’ World Cup campaign, a third successive draw not enough to see them progress out of their group, meaning they will be wondering what might have been as they head home from South Africa undefeated. And that’s the very reason for being happy. Because New Zealand’s footballers have done their country proud during the past fortnight, their achievements far exceeding any and all expectations held before they first kicked a ball in anger just nine days ago. Indeed, All Whites captain Ryan Nelsen told this writer before departing for SA 2010, "If we ever got through our group, it would be the greatest achievement in New Zealand sport - as simple as that. "It’s not climbing Everest - it’s climbing to the top, going back down and doing it again. It’s the hardest thing ever. May be we’ll get there, maybe we won’t. But we’ll give it a good go!" The team was as good as their captain’s word. A cautious first half was blessed with very few goalscoring opportunities, the first of which materialised in the nineteenth minute. Nelson Valdez, Paraguay’s most dangerous player in a cagey opening forty-five minutes, combined with Claudio Morel and Cristian Riveros, whose cross picked out Roque Santa Cruz. The tall target-man held the ball up well before setting up Oscar Cardozo for a shot which Winston Reid was perfectly placed to block. Denis Caniza, captaining his country on his 99th international appearance for Paraguay, strode onto the rebound and let fly from thirty yards, hitting the stanchion with his swerving shot. Ten minutes later, Caniza sent a dipping twenty-five yarder over the bar, to which the All Whites responded with their first noteworthy attack of the match. Chris Killen and Rory Fallon - again the target of opposition gamesmanship in aerial combat issues - worked an opening down the right which culminated in Killen firing in a cross which Paraguayan goalkeeper Justo Villar grabbed off the head of Fallon under the shadow of his crossbar. The ‘keeper repeated the feat six minutes later, this time after an interception by Ivan Vicelich - he was immense throughout - had invited Leo Bertos to beat a couple of players down the right and get in a cross. Villar plucked it from the sky, leaving Fallon to occupy the back of the net, rather than the ball he had intended to head into it. This opportunity immediately followed the only save of note in the first half, Valdez forcing Mark Paston to smother his driven thirty-yard effort after the enterprising left-winger had worked a neat one-two with Santa Cruz. The All Whites were guilty of a few stray passes in the centre of the park at crucial moments in the first half - too often Simon Elliott was sought out when outnumbered by Paraguayan opponents, but it was the Oceania champions’ tactics which frustrated their South American rivals, who were far too often guilty of over-hitting balls forward as they looked to break down the Ryan Nelsen-marshalled defence. The second half continued in similar fashion, although the All Whites came close to sparking it into life three minutes after the resumption, when Elliott and Tony Lochhead worked an opening on the left which culminated in the wing-back’s poor cross being cleared straight to the veteran midfielder, whose drive from the edge of the penalty area rattled the stanchion. But by and large, Paraguay enjoyed the better of the exchanges - that was certainly the case possession-wise - and in the 62nd minute, came close to breaking the deadlock via a short corner routine between Morel and Caniza. The captain’s clipped ball into the penalty area picked out the head of Riveros, who forced a fabulous diving save low to his right by Paston. Cardozo saw his attempt to turn hone the rebound

blocked, as did Victor Caceres seconds later. The All Whites survived this scare, but were subjected to more as the game entered its final fifteen minutes. Morel sent Santa Cruz scurrying down the left to the by-line, from where he pulled the ball back to substitute Edgar Benitez. He managed to engineer enough space beyond Elliott in which to unleash a shot which again brought the best out of Paston, whose parried denial presented Paraguay’s other replacement, Lucas Barrios, with a glorious chance to break the deadlock. But before he could react, Paston plunged at his feet and flicked the ball to safety - a terrific double-save. The All Whites’ custodian saved at the feet of Santa Cruz two minutes later, as the striker looked to get on the end of a Paulo Da Silva clearance, before parrying a wickedly struck thirty yard free-kick from Santa Cruz to safety nine minutes from time. Paraguay had New Zealand on the back foot at this stage, but after Barrios had headed wide following a Benitez cross, the champions of Oceania threw caution to the wind - a solitary goal would, as things turned out, have been enough to take them to the top of the group and a place in the last sixteen, both situations which were nigh on inconceivable going into the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals. The All Whites threw everything they had at their South American rivals in search of the winner. Shane Smeltz headed wide from a Bertos cross, while an Elliott free-kick, a cross from Lochhead and a raking Paston clearance had Paraguay’s defence scrambling. Three minutes from time came the best chance of all, a move sparked by Vicelich and culminating in Smeltz darting inside and angling a ball in for substitute Chris Wood, who steered it agonisingly past the far post, albeit from an offside position. That, as it turned out, was the last chance for either side, a frantic finale brought to an end soon afterwards by Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura which prompted tears of joy for the Paraguayans, and of despair for a gallant All Whites combination, whose South  African campaign concluded without a defeat being recorded against them. What odds would that option have got at the TAB the day after Fallon headed his country to victory over Bahrain seven months ago? What’s more, they will almost certainly be the only team heading home from the World Cup at the conclusion of pool play boasting an unbeaten record - a staggering achievement for a team the vast majority of tipsters considered were at the Finals simply to make up the numbers. Ricki Herbert and his charges have over-achieved at South Africa 2010, and in doing so have lifted the game in New Zealand to hitherto unknown heights in many ways - respect, credibility, expectations … but best of all, their efforts captured the imagination of over four million Kiwis, every one of whom should be proud beyond words of what this team has achieved. Yes, there will be some who will say that they could perhaps have won a game - this one, for instance - and gone even further. Yet this was a team which, when they left for South Africa, we hoped would return home having performed respectfully and credibly and not looked out of place, with perhaps a solitary point - a first-ever point on football’s greatest stage - as due reward for their efforts. Instead, they’ll fly back boasting an unbeaten record, following 1-1 draws with Slovakia and outgoing World Cup holders Italy, and a scoreless stalemate with Paraguay … you couldn’t have made it up in your wildest dreams. The All Whites, to a man, have lived theirs to the fullest, and carried a nation along with them for one heck of a fulfilling ride. All Whites:     Paston; Reid, Nelsen (booked, 56), Smith; Bertos, Vicelich, Elliott, Lochhead; Killen (Brockie, 79), Fallon (Wood, 69), Smeltz Paraguay:     Villar; Caniza, J. Caceres, Da Silva, Morel; Riveros, V. Caceres (booked, 10), Vera; Santa Cruz (booked, 41), Cardozo (Barrios, 66), Valdez (Benitez, 66) Referee:     Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)