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| World Cup: Spain, Germany Win, Tunisia Ties |
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The one-time semifinalists crushed Ukraine 4-0 Wednesday in Group H, getting two goals from David Villa and one spectacular strike from Fernando Torres. Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, the other two teams in the group, each took leads in their match before Rahdi Jaidi equalized in injury time for the North Africans to make it 2-2. Later, host Germany and Poland became the first teams to play twice at this year's World Cup when they kicked off in Dortmund later Wednesday. Spain, which disappoints its fans more often than it pleases them, appears to be heading toward a good showing at this year's World Cup. And the best part of its win over Ukraine was Torres' goal in the 81st. Spain captain Carles Puyol intercepted a pass in midfield, beat a defender with a spin and passed to Torres. He sent the ball to Raul Gonzalez, who put it back to Puyol on the edge of the area. Puyol returned it into the path of Torres, who had continued running and hit the ball to the goalkeeper's right. Wednesday's win in Leipzig helped Spain stretch its unbeaten streak under coach Luis Aragones to 23 matches. "If we show what we can do I know we can be among the top teams at this tournament," Aragones said. "I thought it was going to be more complicated but the second goal made Ukraine more crestfallen and the rest was easier." While the Spaniards are making their eighth consecutive World Cup appearance, they have failed to reach the semifinals since their posting their best result, a fourth-place finish in 1950. Xabi Alonso scored Spain's first goal in the 13th minute with a header past Oleksandr Shovkovskyi. Villa made it 2-0 four minutes later with a deflected free kick, and then added another in the 47th from the penalty spot after Torres was brought down by Vladyslav Vashchyuk, who was ejected. "It's painful to lose 4-0," Ukraine coach Oleh Blokhin said. "I've never lost 4-0. The players did not respect the advice of their coaches. On some occasions we were playing like the worst team in Europe." Andriy Shevchenko, who was expected to shine on world soccer's biggest stage, had little effect on the match. Blokhin had hesitated to start the striker, who was returning from a knee injury. Jaidi scored Tunisia's equalizer in injury time, heading in Ziad Jaziri's cross from 10 meters (yards) only minutes after Sami al-Jaber had given Saudi Arabia the lead. Al-Jaber, a 34-year-old veteran, picked up a through ball and slotted it past Tunisia goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel with his first touch in the 84th minute. The Saudi player, who came on as a substitute in the 82nd minute, has now scored in three World Cups. He also scored in 1994 and 1998, but failed to find the net in 2002. Jaziri had give Tunisia the lead in the 23rd minute, but Yasser al-Qahtani equalized in the 57th. Tunisia coach Roger Lemerre said he was disappointed that his team had not been able to hold on to the lead. "We don't feel like we have opened the door," Lemerre said. "We weren't very assured. While the first goal gave us a boost, it was not enough." Host Germany took a major step toward at least the second round by edging Poland 1-0. In the 91st minute, substitute Oliver Neuville scored on a sliding kick off a brilliant cross from another sub, David Odonkor. "It was a bit lucky, but it was more than deserved," Neuville said. "I should have scored even before." The hosts, with a man advantage for the final 15 minutes, controlled the action only to be frustrated by Artur Boruc, who made a handful of spectacular saves. Poland's Radoslaw Sobolewski was sent off in the 75th minute with his second yellow card after tripping Germany striker Miroslav Klose. The Germans pressed, but Boruc was impenetrable. So was the crossbar, which was hit by Klose with a header and Michael Ballack with a kick in the 90th minute. "We had enough chances," Klose said. And one of them finally paid off. "The goal came very late, but it was well-deserved," Ballack said. "We won a lot of challenges. We were better on challenges than we were against Costa Rica."
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said Rooney was not fit enough to start Thursday's Group B match, but could come on as a substitute. The Manchester United striker broke a bone in his right foot on April 29. "For me, Rooney is match fit," Eriksson said. Before Germany's match in Dortmund, at least 120 German hooligans were arrested after clashing with police, authorities said. At least one fan was seen receiving treatment for facial cuts. In a separate incident, German hooligans attacked police near the jumbo screen that shows games. (AP via China Daily June 15, 2006) |
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