Posted on 06/14/2006 5:46:34 AM PDT by soccer_maniac
The first cycle of group play in the FIFA World Cup comes to a close on Wednesday with all four Group H teams in action, Spain taking on Ukraine at 8:55 a.m. ET (ESPN2) and Saudi Arabia facing Tunisia three hours later (also on ESPN2). Then Cup hosts Germany start the second series of matches in the groups when they face neighbors Poland in Dortmund.
Spain finally get a chance to get the ball rolling in Leipzig, facing a Ukraine team looking for a result in its first-ever World Cup match. But just because the Eastern Europeans are new on the world stage doesn't mean they don't have the talent to make an impact. In fact, they were the first team apart from the hosts to secure passage to the World Cup, topping a difficult Group 2 that also included Denmark, European champions Greece and a Turkey team that finished third in the World Cup four years ago.
Ukraine also boasts one of the most deadly strikers in the world in Andrei Shevchenko, a new arrival to London's Chelsea FC after a stunning career at AC Milan. However, "Sheva," as he is known, has been battling a knee injury and it remains to be seen if he will be in the starting 11.
Shevchenko isn't the only lethal striker that will be on the field; Spain has several of their own, as well, including Real Madrid legend Raul. Arsenal striker Jose Antonio Reyes is also a danger and could start, especially since Spain coach Luis Aragones often lines his side up in a 4-3-3 formation. Spain is looking to break their World Cup curse in Germany, having never advanced to the final in the competition.
(Excerpt) Read more at mlsnet.com ...
I think I read that somewhere. Prior to joining the squad one of the T&T players asked him if he had 'Trini blood' in him and obviously the answer was yes. I think he also realized an England cap wasn't in his future.
That Tunisia babe looks a bit like Terri Hatcher.
Wow, that Tunisia - Saudi Arabia game sure is boring.... yawn!
The Arabians just scored again... Praise Allah.
Goal by Al-Jaber in the 83rd puts the Saudis up 2-1, this should do it.
That is definitely true, because if an English cap was in his future, he would have played there (where he was born).
Meanwhile, Kevin Pietersen knew how good he was (good enough to get an English cap) and that it was a much more high profile spot than the South African team, which is why he made his move.
I also read somewhere that Burchall is the first white player on Trinidad's roster in 30 years.
Did you notice Angola has a white player? That's something you don't see every day.
Aargh; I got tickets for the Ukraine-Tunesia game; would be nice if Saudi Arabia loses and both Ukraine and Tunesia had still a chance when they play...
What better opportunity for a foreign player than to study at an American university? Most will not make the big league clubs in-country, but they could probably get a partial scholarship to play at many US D2, D3 schoools. Just a thought.
EQUALIZER in injury time. 2-2 game!
Tunesia scores in stopage time! It's all tied up now!
Looks like all of the drama is in the last 10 minutes of this one...
Yay :-D
This is good news for Ukraine. Hopefully they show a better effort in the next two games.
Man of the match: Jaziri, Zied (TUN #5) - Goal, Assist
No kidding. Kinda like an NBA game?!
Can they both lose?
Ok, I'll watch Germany-Poland at the Brandenburg Gate. See you later.
TUN | KSA |
2 | Shots on Goal | 5 |
6 | Shots | 13 |
17 | Fouls | 12 |
3 | Corner Kicks | 4 |
0 | Free Kicks | 4 |
1 | Offsides | 1 |
0 | Own Goals | 0 |
4 | Yellow Cards | 0 |
0 | Red Cards | 0 |
49% | Ball Possession | 51% |
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