Argentina shine, Sweden stunned, England struggle
11/6/2006 10:53
Twice world champions Argentina crushed might-be dark horse Cote d'Ivoire
2-1 in their group C duel at the 2006 World Cup finals in Hamburg yesterday
while two group B matches saw only one goal.
The group C is widely recognized
as Group of Death which also includes the Netherlands and Serbia and
Montenegro.
Argentine coach Jose Pekerman said after the match that although
Cote d'Ivoire was a World Cup debutant, it was a tough opponent indeed.
"I
was very glad and it was very important that Heman Crespo scored and put us in
1-0 lead," Pekerman noted.
And Javier Saviola and Juan Riquelme played their
role in the match, which guaranteed the victory, he added.
Thanks to world
class strikers Crespo and Javier Saviola, Argentina enjoyed a 2-0 lead in the
first half.
Riquelme provided the cross from a free-kick and when the
Africans failed to deal with it and clear their lines, Crespo was on hand to
stab the loose ball home past goalkeeper Jean-Jacques Tizie.
Argentina
doubled their advantage in the 37th minute when Riquelme picked out Saviola with
a great pass and the striker produced a beautiful finish to steer the ball past
Tizie.
Saviola, the talented striker of Spanish first division side Sevilla,
was awarded the best player of the match after the game.
Cote d'Ivoire's
French coach Henri Michel said after the match, "I am disappointed at the
result. We had chances to tie the score but did not catch them."
Michel said
that his team were inexperienced and the players did not deal with the ball in
right way all the time.
"Our opponents are more experienced than us in
reading the match. And they have many talented players," Michel said.
"World
Cup games are quite different from those friendlies or league games, and the
Argentines did better than us today," he added.
Both teams played brilliant
attacking football and won the applause and respect from the fans. The Africans
even gained the upper hand before conceding the first goal.
Pekerman
said,"Our defense was well organized and players did well in carrying out the
tactics. I must say we did a good job in defense today. And I appreciate
that."
The South Americans began to control the pace of the game in the
second half with the 2-0 lead. In the 58th minute, Riquelme blasted a free kick
from the right, which was just an inch wide from the left post.
Drogba, the
Africans' star striker who played for English premier league champion Chelsea,
played more aggressively in the second half but was tackled down many
times.
However, the Chelsea prolific striker proved his value in the 85th
minute when he beat two Argentine defenders around him and poked in a cross in
the box.
In Dortmund, World Cup debutants Trinidad and Tobago completed a
mission impossible to hold the raring Sweden 0-0 after being brought down to ten
man from the break at their opening match in Group B.
Boss of the Soca
Warriors, Leo Beenhakker, however, refused to settle for massive underdogs who
make upset on luck.
"I could not be more proud of my players. They deserve
this day. My team has show a great quality on the pitch, and next maybe they
could go better, even for a win," commented the 63-year-old, who had coached the
Netherlands to play World Cup finals 16 years ago.
The Caribbean side, who
failed to make real chances in goal, has been cut down to ten as defender Avery
John was sent off for a second bookable offence after his two-footed lunge
caught Christian Wilhemlsson in the Scandinavians' right wing.
Sweden coach
Lars Lagerback, who had eyed on an opening victory over the minnow Trinny,
admitted that the goalless draw cost them a lot.
With the draw, the Swedes
will have to vie for a win over their next rivals Paraguay to make sure a top
two finish in the close Group B which contains the formidable England.
In
Frankfurt, England's World Cup campaign got off to a stuttering start on
Saturday when they ground out a 1-0 win over Paraguay.
Paraguay pushed
self-destruction button in the fourth minute when David Beckham curled in a
free-kick and Paraguay defender Carlos Gamarra headed the ball past his
goalkeeper Justo Villar.
Paraguay suffered another loss in the fifth minute
when Villar hobbled off injured after rushing out and hacking away a through
ball. Substitute goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla took his place.
Xinhua
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