A headed goal from Rory Fallon and a penalty save from Mark Paston in Wellington on Saturday night carried the All Whites to the World Cup soccer finals in South Africa next year.

New Zealand's 1-0 over Bahrain in the second leg of their qualifier gave them a 1-0 aggregate result, sparking scenes of jubilation among the home players and most of the capacity 35,000 crowd.

It will be just the second time the All Whites will appear at a finals tournament, the first since Spain in 1982, when present coach Ricki Herbert was in the squad.

With the home team up 1-0 and with 10 minutes to go, large chunks of the frenzied crowd adopted a Wellington Phoenix fans' tradition and took their "shirts off for the boys" swinging them around in a shimmer of white.

The city came to life as spectators spilled out on to Wellington's streets– cars tooted, people cheered, strangers hugged and pubs and bars were filled with the chanting of fans showing the effects of football fever.

Mayor Kerry Prendergast, hoarse from helping cheer the team to its 1-0 victory over Bahrain, yesterday vowed to do all she could to see another match played in the capital.

Kevin Fallon, dad of goalscorer Rory and assistant coach of the 1982 team, the only other All Whites to make the World Cup, said the story was almost like a fairytale.

Story and image source: www.stuff.co.nz