Ukraine feel Spain pain while Tunisia, Saudis draw

Spain may have finally put their recent World Cup demons behind them after a 4-0 drubbing of their main threat in Group H, while Tunisia and Saudi Arabia pose a surprise threat to Ukraine after claiming a point each from their exciting 2-2 draw.

But it is Spain who has the most to smile about after this morning’s games, after putting four goals past a side that has been talked of an outside chance of progressing deep into the tournament.

The Spaniards dominated in Leipzig from the outset, and it was no surprise when Xabi Alonso headed in from a corner to give Spain the lead in the 13th minute.

The Ukraine’s best chance of the night was defender Volodymyr Yezerskiy’s header that went wide from a free kick, but it was David Villa who sent Ukraine’s hopes of making the second round dipping.

Villa first hit a free kick that took a decisive deflection from the wall and into the net to double Spain’s advantage, then after Vladislav Vashchuk was harshly sent off for supposedly bringing down Fernando Torres in the area, Villa tucked the penalty away to join a host of other players at the top of the Golden Boot table.

With captain Andrei Shevchenko having no influence for the Ukranians, and the Eastern Europeans down a man, Spain kept pressing in search of the biggest win of the tournament so far.

They got it when full back Puyol made a strong run with the ball at his feet down the left side, before heading the ball in the middle where Torres beat three Ukranian defenders to the ball to smash home a low shot to make it 4-0.

In Munich, Saudi Arabia led Tunisia 2-1 going into extra-time after trailing 1-0 at half-time, but the Africans got a late equaliser to earn a valuable point.

It was Tunisia who opened the scoring, with Zied Jaziri acrobatically slamming home a rebound in the 23rd minute to make the most of Tunisia’s superior ball use.

But the Saudis clawed their way back into the game in the second half, and their efforts were rewarded when Yasser Al Kahtani rifled home a low cross up past the helpless Tunisian keeper Ali Boumnijel to level.

When veteran Sami Al Jaber – whose World Cup goal was 12 years ago at USA ’94 – ran into open space on the left and slotted his shot past an advancing Boumnijel with only six minutes of normal time remaining, it looked like the Saudi’s had began their fourth consecutive World Cup in style.

But the Tunisians never gave up, and Bolton central defender Radhi Jaidi powered home a header make it 2-2 in extra time and secure his side a point.

Spain and Tunisia meet in Stuttgart on Tuesday morning with Spain looking to cement their spot in the second round, while Saudi Arabia and Ukraine face off in Hamburg with the disappointing Ukranians needing a result to keep their hopes of qualification alive.

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