Ukraine & Spain Reign At World Cup
Posted June 23, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was all or nothing for Ukraine at the World Cup on Friday.
And in the end, it was all.
Andriy Shevchenko scored from the penalty spot in the 70th minute to give the Europeans a slim 1-0 win over Tunisia.
His second goal of the tournament came after he was knocked down while running between Tunisia goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel and defender Karim Hagui.
The Tunisians were playing with a handicap, fielding only 10 men after striker Ziad Jaziri was sent off in the last minute of the first half.
But Ukraine supporters don’t care about the how, just the win. The victory in Berlin marks something of a milestone not only at the soccer tournament but in recent history. Ukraine becomes the first former Soviet-bloc team to ever advance to the second round at the Cup. The country gained its independence in 1991.
They join Ghana as the only newcomers to make it to the next level. Angola, Ivory Coast, Togo and Trinidad and Tobago have all been eliminated.
Meanwhile, Spain definitely didn’t put its best feet forward in Kaiserlautern, Germany, but still managed to eke out a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia.
The victory came despite the fact Spain was only fielding a reserve team, as they rest their best for the second round. The game was a chance for coach Luis Aragones to see how well his second level players responded to the challenge and several of them were standouts.
Among them: central defender Juanito Gutierrez, who headed in Spain’s goal from a free kick by Jose Antonio Reyes in the 36th minute.
Seven of those on the field Friday have never contended in a World Cup match before.
Spanish keeper Santiago Canizares also looked sharp in goal, preserving the shut out and the win.
It was another amazing ending for Spain, which finished the first round with a maximum nine points and a lead in Group H.
