Winston Reid, on the wrong end when he allowed Robert Vittek to get in front of him to head home Stanislav Sestak’s cross made amends in stoppage time when he found the net with his header of Shane Smeltz’s cross. It was history making for the Kiwi nation.
Reid appeared for Denmark in the U21 team making 10 appearances with his performances potentially earning him further national squad representation. He was trained in FC Midtjylland’s youth academy along with Simon Kjaer, Denmark’s center back also playing in this World Cup.
However in March 2010 taking advantage of the FIFA rule, the FC Midtjylland center back switched his allegiance to his country of birth. The result – the first ever point for New Zealand in the World Cup.
Their last appearance in the 1982 World Cup was disastrous as they crashed out losing heavily to Scotland, USSR, and Brazil.
This time around they find themselves right in the thick of things in Group F and with this tie they have as good a chance as Italy, Paraguay, and Slovakia of making it to the round of 16. New Zealand seems to have found a new hero at every turn. Mark Paston, Rory Fallon, Shane Smeltz, and now Winston Reid. The World Cup has its heroes and Reid just joined its pantheon.