Wellington: New Zealand soccer plunged into mourning on Wednesday with the death of former national captain Steve Sumner, who led the side to their first World Cup finals in Spain in 1982.

Sumner was 61 and had been suffering from prostate cancer. "What he and the All Whites team from 1982 achieved in that FIFA World Cup campaign put New Zealand on the world football map and his legacy will last forever," New Zealand Football chief executive Andy Martin said.