Substitute Raul Gonzalez and attacking partner Fernando Torres scored within six minutes of each other yesterday in Stuttgart, Germany, to help Spain rally to a 3-1 win over Tunisia.
The victory advances Spain to the Round of 16 out of Group H and extends the team's unbeaten streak to 24 games under coach Luis Aragones.
Gonzalez scored in the 71st minute and Torres poked in the second in the 77th after being set up by substitute Cesc Fabregas. Torres added a third goal from the penalty spot in the 90th after he got pulled down by a defender.
Tunisia must beat Ukraine in its last match to have a chance to advance.
Aragones fielded the same starting lineup that crushed Ukraine 4-0 in Spain's best-ever World Cup opener, but Tunisia stunned the Spaniards in the eighth minute when Jawhar Menari scored.
Striker Ziad Jaziri set up the goal after winning a duel against Carles Puyol, dribbling past three defenders in the box and lifting the ball to Menari. The Nuremberg striker's first shot was blocked by Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas but Menari knocked in the rebound.
“I knew it was going to be a difficult match,” Aragones said. “The first goal upset us. We have a very young team.”
The test became more complicated for Spain when rain started to pour down midway through the first half. The conditions did not help the Spaniards, whose style is based on quick exchanges, tight control and fluid movement.
Spain has opened the World Cup with two wins twice before, but never with such a good goal margin.
Ukraine 4, Saudi Arabia 0
In Hamburg, Andriy Shevchenko got a header and Serhiy Rebrov scored one of the more spectacular goals of the tournament in Ukraine's win, as Saudi Arabia was unable to muster a single shot on goal.
Andriy Rusol had already scored from a corner, the ball bouncing off his knee and into the goal, when Rebrov hit a long shot into the right-hand corner of the net in the 36th minute.
Shevchenko made it 3-0 in the 46th and, with four minutes remaining, set up Maxim Kalinichenko for the final goal that completed a turnaround from the team's 4-0 opening loss to Spain.
“The pumpkin turned into a beautiful carriage and the other animals into beautiful horses,” Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin told reporters. “It's a bit like Cinderella.”
English only, please
A bit of a controversy surfaced yesterday when U.S. standout Landon Donovan was listening to a question in Spanish and was ready to deliver his answer in the language he speaks fluently before being stopped by a spokesman who told everyone to use English, according to Reuters.
Donovan has delighted Spanish-speaking media with his polished delivery in the past three weeks, as have other teammates who speak the language, such as goalkeeper Kasey Keller. Donovan seemed as unhappy as the journalist by the sudden introduction of the English-only requirement.
“That's demanding,” said Donovan, who then praised the journalist who struggled to ask his question in English, then told the man, “Good English.”
Jim Moorhouse, director of communications for the U.S. team, said the decision not to take questions in Spanish – although U.S. games on Spanish-language networks are getting strong ratings in the U.S. – or German during the conference was made to improve the efficiency of the briefings.
“We made the choice because time is of the essence,” Moorhouse said. “It was becoming too convoluted with Spanish and German. We wanted to make sure we got through all the English questions.”
