Spain fight back to beat Tunisia 3-1 and secure second round berth

الثلاثاء، 20 يونيو 2006 - 00:32

كتب : Mohamed Sabe

Torres

Fernando Torres scored a brace as Spain came from behind to beat Tunisia 3-1 in their Group H match on Monday and secure a place in the second round of the World Cup.

Jawhar Menari's 6th minute opener for Tunisia was canceled out by substitute Raul Gonzalez in the 71st minute.

Torres grabbed the lead for Spain six minutes later before completing the rout from the penalty spot in the final minute.

The result means Spain have secured passage to the second round after bagging their 6th point that put them in charge of Group H.

Ukraine are in second place on 3 points while Tunisia and Saudi Arabia are in third and fourth place respectively with a point each.

The Tunisians got off to a flying start and managed to grab a stunning 6th minute opener.

Striker Ziad Jaziri shook off Carles Puyol to set up Menari who unleashed a powerful drive that was stopped by Iker Casillas, but the Real Madrid guardian failed to control the ball allowing Menari to score on his own rebound.

Moved by the gravity of the situation, Spain coach Luis Aragones fielded skipper Raul and midfield sensation Francesc Fabregas in the second-half to boost his offense.

The substitution paid off in the 71st minute when the duo combined to score the equalizer for Spain.

Fabregas rifled a powerful long-range drive that was fumbled by Tunisian keeper Ali Boumnijel only for Raul to swoop in and tuck the ball home.

Six minutes later Fabregas released Torres who rounded Boumnijel and poked home in style.

Tunisia were dealt the final blow when Torres was awarded a penalty kick when he was brought down by Alaeddine Yahia in the area.

The Atletico Madrid ace stepped up and successfully converted the resulting kick himself to seal the win for the Matadors.

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