New Zealand have underlined their intentions not to play Group F’s whipping boys when they claimed a shock World Cup warm-up win over Serbia.

 

The scoreline prompted a section of Serbian supporters to riot at the Klagenfurt venue in Austria, forcing Nemanja Vidic to make a direct appeal over the ground’s PA system for calmness.

The incident did little to deter the All Whites from securing victory thanks to Shane Smetz’s first-half strike. They now go in to their first World Cup since 1982 in buoyant mood, but they will have to produce something even more special if they are to survive in a section containing World champions Italy.