All Whites shock Socceroos group rivals Serbia in friendly

Weather it was luck or skill...Good on the kiwis. I will watch will interest at the results. I still dont think they will make it through but it looks like you cannot take it easy on them. I think Serbia will be disappointed that didnt score on them as the kiwis where running 3 in the back line. You can use all the excuses you want but as a coach you put you team in a different formation to test the waters and see what player are capable of. I think Australia have more expectations than 2006 but they dont have a better team. If and a big IF the Socceroo fire there is no reason why we can make it through to the next round but it all come down to the coach. Im not cofident in Pim ability as a coach but he has got them here and he isnt leaving till after the World Cup. I think we all need to take a deep breath sit back an enjoy the fact the Australia is in South Africa and the fact that thier is going to be some great free to air football for the next month and a bit.

Teh Socceroes can take real heart from this NZ win. I am a NZ supporter and roos will be my second team. Australian teams have a knack of being able to win games even when they might not deserve it. This is what NZ need to do, and are now heading town that track. But to all NZ fans be weary and don't expect to much from the All Whites. We all know what can happen to NZ teams on the big stage with more pressure. Teams won't be taking us lightly anymore which might not be a good thing!!

AF I think NZ is a better team than we give them credit for and given that we were able to do what Serbia could not is, I believe, a testamant to our squad and its management.

does John have bi-polar?

that's ok tutu. I actually think NZ has a very good chance of progressing out of their group, if they keep their momentum and don't let the moment overcome them, Then, if you look at potential rivals in the next stage, they could do well, but until the tournament starts it's just speculation. Good luck to you anyway.

Betty I had made this comment when just a few people had commented

Can't grasp your sentiment tutu. All I've read pretty much has about 95% of Ausys praising the All Whites. All, or nearly all, have NZ as their second team in this tournament and are real pleased to see these results. Cautions are only fair cop, as the race hasn't started yet and friendlies can be misleading - even Spain barely beat Saudi. But we love you guys (really, chips and all) and wish you well. It's good for NZ, good for football in the region, and great for the A League.

They did John and all credit to them for that, but making excuses for being outplayed for 60 minutes while not giving credit to your opponents ignores the underlying problems to the socceroes under belly which one can fix...the formation was all over the place and there were no tactics of any nature.....I think its an imense team the socceroes, but heavily under done and underworked and will peak later than sooner.

Dunno who that was. What I want to say is at least Australia beat New Zealand. Maybe that means more than some people think.

....nz exposed gaps in a socceroes line up which lacked thought, tactics and combinatiions....socceroes sitting on the back of the excitiment & gains of the 2006 team but without the obvious know how and determination of their earlier peers. Hot air can only get you so far... wake up aussies, nz played you well, ignoring this means you will not make corrections to your game to fix problems.....insteading professing over training as the cause...will only bring the expected surprises yet to come! Heard a comment from Farina today saying not to read too much into the nz serbia game..... Thats the problem I am talking about......head in the sand...good luck socceroes...you are going to need it..

looks like the all whites have better chance of progressing than us :) that's right, us, who are too good for new zealand and weren't worth our time and a waste of a friendly :roll:

Tell him he's dreamin'.

New Zealand's team was also better than against Australia. All euro-club defenders and Leo Bertos on the pitch for more than 30 minutes.

Socceroos dont look so bad now beating NZ 2-1 with half der team. Serbs were only missing 2 of their starting 11, now more then ever i believe we can qualify for the 2nd round and play the pommys and beat them at their own game! GO THE SOCCEROOS!

Well Done to the Kiwis. Being the team with the most A-League representatives, they'll clearly be my second team in the tournament and I hope they produce similar upsets, specifically against the italians.

Astounding the All Whites beat the 15th ranked team in the World and you aussies still have to find any way you can to belittle their achievements. Wake up lads Australia is simply not as good as you think they are!!!

What a great result for New Zealand. A few Serbian players missing, but still had some top players like Vidic in the team. I'm sure the boys in their Johannesburg training camp will take great heart from the news. I know Pim will - NZ scored their goal from a counter attack from Smelz, which is probably the way Pim is going to play. Serbia were the biggest chokers at the last WC and lost every game conceding 10 goals including a 6 nil loss to Argentina. Don't give up on the Socceroos just yet.

Joe, i am a passionate socceroos supporter like you but im happy to be on the anti Pim brigade, ive watched every socceroos match under Pim and ive only been happy with the teams performance only a hand ful of times, YES it is all about results but we never had a problem getting results through asia or international friendlies before Pim came into power. Under Pim we are struggling to domiate and defeat 3rd rate football nations that we would normally roll over under previous coaches. we beat china 2-0 with ease in a friendly with an understrength team in Beijing just before Pim, then with Pim under control we luckily drew 0-0 in beijing and lost 1-0 here in sydney in the world cup qualifiers, those are two examples of MANY Pim's reults are deceiving, yes he may have a good record but he's holding this current team back from playing its full potential.

Vidic from ManU was playing and...Smeltz scored... so a nice boost for the A League.

There is a very interesting article on twg by Melbourne Heart Assist coach Jesper Olsen. His comments about the friendly results was very comforting when read after the Nz result. Also the fact that there are no details about the serbian team that took the field doesn't give the result a lot of credit. It does appear that NZ are in form though, a wins a win, and a goal from smeltz is great. Go the Kiwi's ......