All Whites coach Ricki Herbert is labelling the 1-0 win against world number 15 Serbia in Austria as New Zealand's biggest international scalp.



Speaking shortly after the win, Herbert was high on emotion but spoke with clarity when rating the win as New Zealand's greatest, in terms of the calibre of opposition.



"It would have to be, I would think," he said.



"It's going to take a bit to take away the euphoria of November 14 [the 1-0 win against Bahrain to qualify for the World Cup] but I think, playing a team ranked that high in the world, to beat them here is a terrific result. It's definitely right up there."



When New Zealand beat Georgia in 2006, their first international win on European soil, Herbert described it as one of his proudest moments. Georgia were ranked about 100 in the world then. Serbia are currently 15th, 63 spots above New Zealand.



They topped their European qualifying group, which included France, and boast a squad full of players who are at some of Europe's biggest clubs.



"This is a world class team," Herbert said. "They're going to go into the World Cup as a very, very strong team, so from our perspective it's an excellent result.



"Everybody is very pleased. I thought we played really well, the performances of a lot of them [the players] were right up there.



"I think around the world that's going to send a few messages."



Herbert said the Serbs were stunned at the result.



"They'd be extremely disappointed, losing to New Zealand, but I guess their aim, like ours, is to be ready for the first game of the World Cup.



"But for us, it's a fantastic result. It's the best we've ever had in the history of the game, to beat a team at that level.



"I think we can savour the moment tonight but we'll be back on the pitch in 24 hours because we've got a lot of work to do yet."



Herbert could have been forgiven for not even contemplating victory against Serbia, especially on the back of the match against Australia on Monday night and a long and arduous travel schedule, which meant he had to cancel one of the training sessions the day before the match.



"I changed the team a little bit because the trip from Melbourne was pretty horrendous, really, it's such a long way and the players were tired. But to not only win the game, but to concede no goals as well, I thought that was great."



Herbert reported that there were no injuries arising from the match, with striker Chris Wood, who was substituted after an hour, suffering from cramp only.

Reuters WORRIES: All Whites football coach Ricky Herbert is starting to fear injuries above all else as the World Cup looms.