Lackluster Ukraine Has Just Enough
Ukraine doesn’t care how it got to the second round. Tunisia was furious at the way it was knocked out.
Despite a lackluster performance, a disputed penalty shot by Andriy Shevchenko lifted Ukraine to a 1-0 victory over Tunisia on Friday at Berlin, making the World Cup newcomers the first former Soviet republic to reach the tournament’s second round.
Ukraine needed only a tie to advance, barring a blowout by Saudi Arabia over Spain in the other Group H match. Tunisia needed to win to reach the second round but had its hopes dented when its only fit striker, Ziad Jaziri, was sent off in the last minute of a scoreless first half because of his second yellow card.
“The game was a bit difficult, but I’m happy about the way we played because the result was so important,” Shevchenko said. “We were only thinking about the result, not about the quality of play.
“It’s a hugely important achievement for Ukrainian football that we have got into the next round.”
Shevchenko scored his second goal of the tournament, rifling home a penalty kick in the 70th minute after referee Carlos Amarilla of Paraguay ruled he had been brought down by Tunisian defender Karim Hagui. Replays suggested the newly signed Chelsea striker tripped over his own feet.
Spain 1, Saudi Arabia 0 -- Spain Coach Luis Aragones told his fringe players to make his life difficult, and some of them lived up to the challenge.
A Spanish squad full of substitutes led a victory and helped clinch first place in Group H at Kaiserslautern. The backups tried to win a spot in the starting lineup for the round of 16 match in Hanover on Tuesday against France.
Center back Juanito Gutierrez headed in Spain’s goal on a long free kick from Jose Antonio Reyes in the 36th minute.
The result extended Spain’s unbeaten streak under Aragones to 25 matches. Saudi Arabia exited its fourth consecutive World Cup with only one point from its opening draw with Tunisia.
France 2, Togo 0 -- Patrick Vieira, playing in place of suspended star Zinedine Zidane, scored the first goal on his 30th birthday and set up the second for Thierry Henry in a six-minute span in the second half to help the French advance at Cologne.
