Winston Reid, the scorer of the goal that earned New Zealand their first World Cup point, admitted that opting for the All Whites had been the toughest decision of his life.
Reid, who was raised in Denmark and won 10 caps for the Scandinavian country’s under-21s, only committed himself to the country of his birth in March, with the lure of playing in the World Cup finals proving too strong to resist.
For a time on Tuesday, it looked as if his adventure in South Africa was going to end in tears with the 21-year-old caught out of position as Robert Vittek headed Slovakia into the lead five minutes after half-time.
PHOTO: AFP
But he made amends in fairytale fashion. After producing a superb block to deny Vittek a second goal, it was Reid who popped up in the box deep into injury time to head Shane Smeltz’s cross in off the post and earn New Zealand a historic point.
“If you look at the smiles on the guys’ faces, that says it all,” Reid said afterward. “I thought their goal was offside but they made it tough for us in the second half. So to come back and get the equalizer is a fantastic feeling. This is the biggest stage in the world for football and that has to be the most important goal of my life.”
Reid left New Zealand as a ten-year-old after his parents separated and his mother relocated to Denmark with his Danish step-father.
The young Reid’s talent was recognized early and he progressed through the Danish youth system without ever giving a 100 percent commitment to his adopted country.
“For a long time I have been torn between the two countries. I was asking myself if I was a Kiwi or a Dane,” he admitted.
“The Danish FA contacted me when I was 17, but at this age I was not able to take such a big decision.”
Currently with Danish Super League side Midtjylland FC, for whom he made his debut at 17, Reid is hoping that his performances here will attract interest from clubs in Europe’s bigger leagues.
And, like the rest of the New Zealand squad, he is also hoping that success in South Africa will give soccer a lasting boost in the home of the All Blacks.
“Rugby and cricket are obviously dominant there, but if we have a good tournament I hope it will make kids interested in playing football,” he said.
TOOTHLESS: Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners. Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime and found the net again in the 57th minute when Bologna were caught trying to play out of defense. “We came here as champions of Italy, we wanted this trophy and we showed it with a great performance,” Napoli forward Matteo Politano told Mediaset. “We could have scored a few more goals, but
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Fulham on Monday climbed away from the English Premier League relegation zone and left Nottingham Forest mired in the fight for survival after Raul Jimenez’s penalty sealed a 1-0 win. Marco Silva’s side started the day just two points above fourth-bottom Forest, but Jimenez’s first-half goal at Craven Cottage moved them 10 points clear of the bottom three. While Fulham’s relegation fears were eased heading into the Christmas schedule, Forest are just five points ahead of third-bottom West Ham United in the scrap to avoid crashing into the Championship. Forest had won six of their previous eight games in all competitions, with a
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS