They don't like it up 'em ...

Remember Dad's Army? We do , and we remember Lance-Corporal Jones' famous repetitive line - "they don't like it up 'em"! Well, the All Whites gave Italy a bit of the "cold steel" yesterday, and like the WW1 "fuzzy-wuzzies" to whom Jones was constantly referring, it hasn't gone down well, as the Herald reports:

The Italian press - which just days earlier had dismissed both the All Whites, and their style of soccer - were as ungracious after what amounted to a defeat for the Azzurri yesterday.

Sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport wrote off the New Zealanders in the days leading up to the Italy match, heaping scorn on the All Whites' lack of "sophistication", and "bleak landscape of technical inadequacy".

And La Gazzetta dello Sport was not much more flattering in the wake of yesterday's upset, which has left the current world champions facing an uphill slog to the final 16.

The paper described the All Whites as "excellent athletes but mediocre footballers", but chose instead to focus on Italy's shortcomings in the match.

"Italy attacked with everything they had, but had too difficult a time. This type of play from Italy will not do," reporter Riccardo Pretesi said.

"Italy with no game and headless," La Repubblica complained.

"An Italy without quality," said Corriere della Sera on its front page alongside an analysis of the "long decline of a great captain" - Fabio Cannavaro.

"It's a really poor result, more than disappointing. I would say chilling," wrote Gianni Mura in La Repubblica.

We can understand how they feel. The Italians are used to a game played with flair and panache. Sadly, the All Whites don't have the players for that kind of game. Had they tried to take on the Italians with that kind of style of football yesterday, in all likelihood they would have been trounced.

Instead, Ricki Herbert is pragmatic enough to know that his team has limitations, and has devised a gameplan accordingly. It isn't always pretty, but it is effective. And the key to it all, in our always-humble opinion is Ryan "Admiral" Nelsen. He is the rock in defence, and a hugely influential presence amongst his team-mates. He leads by example, and where he goes, his players follow. One wonders where he will end up once his footballing career is over.

So even though the Italiam media can't say much good about the All Whites, you can guarantee that we will. They gave everything yesterday, and a dubious penalty apart, they held the Italians scoreless. It was a terrific display of courage under fire, and we're sure that Lance-Corporal Jones would have been delighted with their "no surrender" attitude. Well done you All Whites!