Soccer: All Whites have nothing to lose

Chris Killen (L) says the Slovakia game is vital if NZ are to get past the group stages. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Rarely have the All Whites had a chance to achieve something on the world stage.

Beating Saudi Arabia and then China to qualify for 1982 was a massive accomplishment but to get a result at a World Cup would be phenomenal.

Few really take the All Whites seriously. Many international pundits have had their fun about New Zealand's chances in South Africa. Some were forced to re-calculate after the 1-0 win over Serbia.

Yes, it was a friendly. Yes, there were myriad changes made in the second half of the match. But Serbia are ranked 15th in the world and the All Whites managed to beat them only two days after enduring a 40-hour trip from Australia to the Austrian alps. It also came around decent performances against Australia and Slovenia.

What has been most encouraging about the All Whites recently is the fact they create chances and look reasonably comfortable at the back when they have their best side on the park.

They aren't a side who can maintain possession for long periods and can often look ponderous compared to their opposition - but they can worry other teams. They play to their strengths and seem to have a resilience about them.

"We will always create chances with this team," midfielder Simon Elliott says. " The question for us is, how many chances will we concede?

"If we can be disciplined in the way we defend, be nice and compact, then we will be fine."

They haven't got it badly wrong so far. Serbia were seen by many as potentially the most difficult of any of their opponents in both the warm-ups and World Cup.

The All Whites know they need to get something out of Tuesday's match if they are to achieve the unlikely and progress from their group. Their tournament would be a success is if they go into their final game against Paraguay still alive.

"I think [the Slovakia game] is one of the biggest games in New Zealand football history," striker Chris Killen says. "The first game is massively important and we need to get something out of it if we are to get through this group."

Slovakia present a huge challenge. They qualified from a tricky group that also included Slovenia, Czech Republic and Poland and recently drew with Cameroon 1-1 and beat Costa Rica 3-0.

It's the first time they have played at a World Cup, making them the only team to debut this time around. However, they were part of the old Czechoslovakia - which played in eight finals and finished second twice.

They will be a team under pressure but coach Vladmir Weiss has promised to take the game to New Zealand.

"We will try to win playing offensively and if we do that we have created a good starting point," Weiss said. "Although it will be tough match, I think we have a better team. Any failure by us will complicate the situation and it would mean in the other two games we would have to try something different."

The Slovaks were one of the last teams to arrive into South Africa and there is an injury cloud over snarling Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel, who injured an ankle against Costa Rica and hasn't yet trained with the squad. Skrtel is the most well-known player within the squad but there are others who play in the top leagues of Germany, Italy and Turkey.

They are expected to play much like Slovenia. They used a 4-4-2 formation in qualifying, with a lot of the play flowing through 22-year-old captain and Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik. Weiss described him recently as "incredibly gifted, a world-class player and worth his weight in gold."

Hamsek is not the only player who could prove difficult for the All Whites. Diminutive Chelsea winger, Miroslav Stoch, played only four games in four years for the Premier League champions but a better guide to his ability is his loan spell with Dutch club FC Twente, where he scored 10 goals in 32 matches and made several more from the wing.

Only four European teams outscored Slovakia in qualifying and striker Stanislav Sestak could prove a handful, as he was the leading scorer in qualifying.

They are a good side.

Talented, yes, and favourites to win - but they aren't a side the All Whites should fear.

With the world having set low expectations, New Zealand really have nothing to lose.