Ecuador cruise into second round

Ecuador strolled past Costa Rica 3-0 and into the second round of the World Cup on Thursday for the first time in their history.
Goals in either half from Carlos Tenorio (8) and Agustin Delgado (54) and then a late strike from Ivan Kaviedes kept the South Americans' 100 percent record in Group A intact following a 2-0 win over Poland in their opening match.
Germany are also through, having beaten Poland 1-0 in Dortmund on Wednesday.
Degado and Tenorio were also goalscorers against the Poles.
The group winners will be decided when Ecuador meet the hosts Germany next Tuesday. The Ticos, meanwhile, head home after the first phase for a second successive finals.
Despite early pressure from Costa Rica, Ecuador opened the scoring after eight minutes when Tenorio headed home from a nicely floated cross by Luis Valencia.
Costa Rica came out fighting once again in the second half, but their enthusiasm was short-lived as Ecuador doubled their tally in the 54th minute with a superbly taken goal.
Edison Mendez won the ball on the right hand corner of the box before Delgado pounced on to the loose ball, controlled it with his chest, before rifling home from a tight angle.
Two minutes into injury time, Kaviedes turned the ball in with a volley after a cross from the right to make it three.
The early goal in the first half seemed to settle the South Americans and they began to take control of the game, stringing together long pieces of passing play
Their opponents were reduced to long range shots which never really troubled Ecuador.

Germany wins 1-0 against Poland

Substitute Oliver Neuville scored a stoppage time winner as host nation Germany moved to the brink of qualifying for the second round of World Cup with a 1-0 win over Poland on Wednesday. Germany had spurned countless chances, with their Polish-born strikers Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski the main guilty parties, but Neuville popped up to score in the second minute of stoppage time, sliding in David Odonkor's cross. Neuville said that he was not a hero, merely the man who had made up for an earlier bad miss. "I am not a hero - we should have scored more. I missed a great chance 10 minutes earlier," he said of an effort which hit the bar. "Thank God it worked out as I got an important goal a minute before the end." It was heartbreak for Poland, who had been reduced to 10 men in the final quarter hour, and who are virtually out of the tournament after successive defeats. Germany will be guaranteed a place in the last 16 should Costa Rica fail to beat Ecuador on Thursday. Klose said the Germans had to show commendable patience before their breakthrough. "We always believed in ourselves and in the end we got the breakthrough as one chance finally went in," said Klose. "You have to be patient. We had enough chances but luck was not on our side. However, we kept on plugging away and it paid off." Skipper Michael Ballack said the team deserved a pat no the back for its persistence. "It was a good performance by the team as we kept on putting them under pressure. We controlled the game well in the first half and produced a number of chances," said the captain. "The fact we got a late goal may seem lucky, but it was wholly deserved." Germany had their first of many chances in the 21st minute when Philipp Lahm delivered a perfect cross with his weaker left foot but Klose, scorer of two goals against Costa Rica, headed narrowly wide of the post. As the first half progressed Germany captain Michael Ballack, back after missing the Costa Rica win with a calf injury, got a stranglehold on the match and Podolski missed a glorious chance on the stroke of half-time. With the goal at his mercy Podolski, the new golden boy of German football, sliced his effort wide of the target. Germany manager Jurgen Klinsmann, once a prolific striker himself, could not hide his frustration, leaping out of the dug-out in anguish. Five minutes into the second half it was more suffering as Klose failed to connect with a Ballack cross and his header trickled wide. Poland were on the ropes but a Ballack back pass almost put in Ebi Smolarek, who plays on this ground for Borussia Dortmund, but Jens Lehmann read the danger. Ballack was then booked for a cynical foul after 58 minutes and must now watch his step. Polish midfielder Radoslaw Soboloweski did not watch his, collecting a second yellow on 75 minutes for a body check. Germany pushed on and hit the crossbar twice before Neuville took the roof off with a last-gasp strike. It was a sweet moment for Neuville who was a surprise choice in Klinsmann's World Cup squad ahead of Schalke 04 striker Kevin Kuranyi. The win was Germany's first over a European rival in the final stages of a tournament in 10 years.

Tunisia scrambled a 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia

Defender Radhi Jaidi headed an injury-time equaliser on Wednesday as Tunisia scrambled a 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia which left both teams waiting for an elusive World Cup win. After a defensive mix-up, forward Zied Jaziri put a high ball into the six-yard box which Jaidi nodded home. It was relief for Tunisia, who had led for nearly an hour before Saudi Arabia equalised and then went ahead through veteran striker Sami al-Jaber in the 84th minute. Tunisia have not won a World Cup finals match since their debut in 1978, and Saudi Arabia have not won since their debut in USA 1994. "We should have been calmer to make sure of victory," said Saudi coach Marcos Paqueta. "We lost two points." "We showed two faces in this match. At first, we were nervous, we were scared of Tunisia. "But at half-time I told them to attack down the wings. I was happy with the result." The North Africans led after a dour first half, but the game came alive on 57 minutes when Saudi Arabia equalised with the move of the match. Defender Ahmed Dokhi played a peach of a ball down the right channel for Mohammed Noor, whose early cross fell perfectly for Yasser al-Qahtani who scampered clear of two defenders and buried it first time. Saudi Arabia made changes as they pressed for a win, with midfielder Nawaf al-Temyat coming off for forward Malek al-Hawsawi, Noor making way for Mohammed Ameen and Qahtani being replaced by Jaber. And Jaber, who has now played in four World Cups, made an immediate impact as he was put clear by Hawsawi, calmly sliding a left-footed finish past Tunisia 'keeper Ali Boumnijel - a fellow veteran and the tournament's oldest player at 40 years and 62 days. However, the Saudis were not able to hold on to their lead and Jaidi equalised in the second minute of injury time. The North Africans had gone ahead in the 23rd minute after captain Riadh Bouazizi was fouled in front of the Saudi box. Saudi defender Redha Tukar headed on the resulting free-kick Jaziri on hand to ram the loose ball home with an acrobatic volley. Tunisia were worth their lead with clear-cut chances few and far between for the Saudis, despite winning a number of corners and free-kicks in dangerous positions. Tukar curled one free-kick over the wall but it was a simple stop for Boumnijel, and Saudi forward Qahtani could also have done better with a high ball which he headed wide. Saudi Arabia also survived an early penalty appeal when Jaziri went down under a challenge by Tukar.

Spain beat Ukraine 4-0

Spain overpowered Ukraine 4-0 Wednesday in Group H of the World Cup _ the biggest margin of victory so far at this year's tournament.

Xabi Alonso scored the first goal in the 13th minute with a header from a corner. David Villa made it 2-0 four minutes later by deflecting the ball off the Ukrainian wall on a free kick.

Villa scored again in the 47th from the penalty spot after being brought down by Vladyslav Vashchyuk, who was ejected for pulling his opponent's shorts and tripping him.

Fernando Torres scored a fourth with a powerful right-footer, rounding off a sweeping move that started with Carles Puyol on the halfway line.

Brazil wins 1 - 0

A first-half moment of magic by AC Milan star Kaka gave defending champions Brazil a 1-0 win over Croatia in their opening World Cup Group F match at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday.
Kaka ended a frustrating opening period for the five-times winners when he sent a curling left foot drive zipping past helpless 'keeper Stipe Pletikosa four minutes before the break for his 11th goal in the national shirt and it proved sufficient for the points with Australia and Japan to come.
The effort lit up a match which initially had failed to ignite before a capacity crowd of 72,000 and came just days after Kaka told reporters he needed to improve his left-footed shooting.
Mission accomplished on this evidence.
The win also set a new record for consecutive victories in World Cup finals. It was Brazil's eighth in a row beating Italy's record of seven from 1934 and 1938.
But Kaka was less than happy with the performance.
"The win is important. But we lacked mobility and have to straighten things out at the back," he complained.
Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira agreed but said that after a recent diet of friendlies it took time to get up to speed.
"I think the result was good but the performance could be better. For us it was so important to start with a win," said Parreira, who also coached Brazil to the 1994 title.
"Our team will be in much better physical condition as the tournament progresses."
Despite the defeat, Croatia coach Zlatko Krancjar insisted that his team could still make it through to the next round.
"Brazil made a goal from just the one chance. This defeat won't stop us from going further," he insisted.
"But they have fantastic players in their side with the likes of Kaka."
In contrast to Kaka's dynamism, Ronaldo failed to shine and was hauled off midway through the second half, leaving the Real Madrid forward still looking for the goal that would see him surpass Pele as his country's all-time top scorer at the competition.
His lack of form meant a chance for clubmate Robinho to impress.
Brazil began brightly, Roberto Carlos stinging Pletikosa's fingertips with a long-distance drive before Ronaldinho again forced the Croatian shot-stopper into action with a low effort which the Hajduk Split keeper turned away for a corner.
But despite early trickery and industry from Ronaldinho, Croatia were not intimidated and Rangers striker Dado Prso burst down the left before cutting in to send an ambitious effort over Dida's crossbar.
Facing the Brazilian "magic quartet" of Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo and Adriano, Croatian coach Zlatko Kranjcar fielded a five-man midfield including former Juventus defender Igor Tudor.
The Croatians had to make a change on 40 minutes when skipper Niko Kovac, already booked for a challenge on Kaka, withdrew clutching his chest after a tussle with Adriano, giving way to Jerko Leko as Tudor took the captain's armband.
Behind at the interval, Croatia had to raise their game and Prso and Ivan Klasnic forced Kaka's clubmate Dida into two smart stops in quick succession.
After 55 minutes, Ronaldo, languid in the extreme in the opening period, suddenly roused himself to shoot just over.
Adriano had also been quiet and it was left to Ronaldinho to move into the centre forward position on 63 minutes, his header from a rightwing cross by veteran skipper Cafu bringing an athletic stop from Pletikosa.
Robert Kovac then followed his sibling into Mexican referee Benito Archundia's book for felling Adriano.
With 20 minutes remaining and not satisfied that a blunt Ronaldo - whose weight and form have been sources of much controversy - was going to find a way through, Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira sent Robinho into the fray.
That only spurred the Croatians on as Marko Babic fired straight at Dida and Niko Krajncar headed over.
Kaka then showed he has a right foot as talented as his left in firing a snapshot just wide as Brazil closed out the result.

Australia Scores Late to Top Japan 3-1

Australia scored three goals in the final minutes Monday for a 3-1 win over Japan in Group F of the World Cup.
Tim Cahill scored Australia's first ever World Cup goal in the 84th minute after Japan goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi failed to punch clear a throw-in. He added another in the 89th, and John Aloisi scored a third in injury time to seal Australia's first World Cup win in the team's second appearance.
Shunsuke Nakamura had given Japan the lead in the 26th minute with a cross that beat Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.
His cross from 25 yards (meters) sailed in over Schwarzer, who failed to grab the ball when he crashed into a group of players in front of the net.
Japan forward Naohiro Takahara made contact with Schwarzer as the two leapt in the air but there was no foul. Schwarzer walked off at halftime shaking his head.
Australia almost equalized less than a minute later when Harry Kewell's shot sailed over the crossbar.
Cahill, who came on in the 53rd minute, equalized for Australia when he picked up a loose ball and beat Kawaguchi with right foot shot.
The Everton midfielder added another five minutes later when his 20-meter (yard) shot hit one post and then went into the net.
In injury time, Aloisi threaded his way through the Japanese defense and scored from 15 meters (yards).
The loss was a huge setback for Japan, which dominated most of the second half with Kawaguchi making several key saves off free kicks.
Kawaguchi dove to his left in the 75th minute, stopping Mark Viduka's free kick.
Australia's only other trip to the World Cup was in 1974, when it failed to score a goal in losing to host West Germany and East Germany and drawing 0-0 with Chile.
Japan is in its third straight World Cup. Co-hosts in 2002, the Japanese lost 1-0 in the second round to eventual semifinalist Turkey.
Brazil and Croatia are also in the group.

Portugal seal 1-0 victory


Portugal secured a 1-0 win over Angola on Sunday as the African World Cup debutants overcame a nervous start to hold their own against their former colonial masters.
Pauleta almost scored after 12 seconds and did so after four minutes as the Euro 2004 runners-up threatened to run away with their opening Group D clash in a one-sided first 20 minutes.
But Angola overcame their jitters, created a few chances of their own and walked off the pitch with their heads held high at the end of an emotional encounter.
Angola gained a bloody independence in 1975 after 400 years of colonial rule but relations between the two countries have thawed since and eight of the Angola squad play their club football in Portugal. They made it tough for their opponents.
"A victory even it's by the narrowest of margins is excellent," said Portuguese coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. "We have three points in the bag. The game was complicated as expected."
The European side, unbeaten winners of a tough World Cup qualifying group, warmed to their task immediately as Pauleta skidded a shot just wide when they broke straight from kickoff.
He did not have to wait long to find the net though as three minutes later Luis Figo collected the ball in acres of midfield space, easily skipped past Kali and pulled the ball back for the striker to tuck in his 47th goal in his 83rd international.
ANGOLANS SETTLE
The Angolans looked in disarray as Pauleta ran free on to another long ball before hooking over the bar but they eventually settled down and enjoyed a flurry of half-chances.
Andre forced Portugal keeper Ricardo to touch out a fierce long strike while former Benfica striker Akwa, Angola's captain and most-capped player, had the crowd on their feet with two attempted overhead kicks.
His bright orange boots were a blur of spectacular movement and though the results went horribly wide the crowd responded to lift the underdogs.
Portugal replied as Ronaldo cracked a 35th minute header against the bar from a Figo corner and then had a stinging shot beaten out by Angola keeper Joao Ricardo.
However, Portugal's inability to find a second goal left captain Figo's displeasure obvious in his animated discussions with his team mates at the end of the first period.
Angola looked far better organised in the second half and Portugal ran out of ideas in attack.
They were eventually reduced to hopeful long-range efforts -- the best coming in stoppage time when Maniche's drive was palmed over the bar by Ricardo.
In their two previous meetings Portugal had triumphed 6-0 and 5-1 but this time they had to settle for a slimmer, but far more important victory.
"Our plan was to get three points so 1-0 was as good as 5-0," said Figo. "If we win the next match against the team that lost in our group (Iran), they're out and we're through."
Portugal face Iran in Frankfurt on Saturday after Angola's Friday night game in Hanover against Mexico, who beat the Asian side 3-1 earlier on Sunday to set the Group D pace.
Angola coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves said: "Angola will keep doing what we do, keep playing with great spirit and I'm sure we can make life difficult for Mexico in our next game."

Holland 1-0 Victory

The Netherlands made a fine start to their World Cup on Sunday with a goal from the inspired Arjen Robben giving them a 1-0 victory over Serbia & Montenegro.
Marco van Basten's side confirmed their status as serious contenders for the title, dominating possession and combining patient build-up play with neat, quick passing in their opening Group C game.
Robben, comfortably the game's outstanding player, gave the Dutch the lead in the 18th minute with a cool left-footed finish after he raced clear of the Serbian defence to latch on to a pass from Robin van Persie.
The winger could have doubled his tally four minutes later with a fierce shot, which produced a spectacular one-handed save from Dragoslav Jevric.
Robben's pace consistently caused problems for Serbian stand-in right back Nenad Djordjevic, starting as part of a defensive reshuffle caused by centre back Nemanja Vidic's suspension.
Serbia & Montenegro coach Ilija Petkovic was forced to take Djordjevic off before half time, bringing on Ognjen Koroman.
His side threatened more in the second half but could not find the killer touch in front of goal.
Koroman unleashed a fierce shot in the 71st minute which Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Saar only gathered at the second attempt.
Both sides struggled at times with their footing on the Zentralstadion pitch, the turf cutting up despite the perfect weather conditions of blue sky and bright sunshine.

Argentina Downs Ivory Coast 2-1 in Debut


Still haunted by the last World Cup, Argentina really needed this victory. And a determined Ivory Coast team made the two-time Cup winners work for it.
Hernan Crespo and Javier Saviola took advantage of some shaky defense to score first-half goals, and the Argentines hung on for a 2-1 victory Saturday night in the first game of what many think is the tournament's toughest group.
"It was savage," Crespo said. "We were nervous, so much wanting to do things well. This is the first step."
Didier Drogba, a key to Chelsea's consecutive English Premier League titles, got Ivory Coast's goal in the 82nd minute. After he just missed a header, the ball was cut back in front, and Drogba converted a left-footed shot for his 24th goal in 33 international appearances.
Argentina, whistled at by the crowd of 49,480 for its delaying tactics, won its fourth straight World Cup opener and next plays Serbia-Montenegro on Friday, when Ivory Coast meets the Netherlands. The Dutch face Serbia in their Group C opener on Sunday.
Argentina fans in blue-and-white-striped shirts filled the other corner of the stadium and brought along drums for some extra noise. Dressed in an Argentina jersey and watching from stands was Diego Maradona, who led his country to the 1986 title.
"This is a young Argentina team," coach Jose Pekerman said. "Many are playing their first World Cup, and a debut like this is going to give them confidence."
Ivory Coast, which got past African power Cameroon to qualify for the first time, was dressed in bright orange jerseys, and so were its fans. The supporters serenade the team with "When the Elephants dance, it's the ground that suffers" after wins, but they didn't have much to sing about.
"I think maybe we deserve something better than what happened tonight, but Argentina's players were very good," Drogba said. "They played very well, and I think they scored when they had to score. That was the difference between them and us. We had a lot of chances, but we were unlucky to not score."
At the 2002 tournament in Japan, Argentina beat Nigeria, lost to England and tied Sweden, its worst performance since failing to qualify for the 1970 tournament. Players were ridiculed back home, where newspapers took a photo of the team's defensive wall and superimposed handbags draped on the players' arms.
"We haven't achieved anything yet," Argentina captain Juan Pablo Sorin said. "But it was key to start in this way with three points."
Ivory Coast outshot the South Americans 13-9, with Drogba getting off four shots alone, and Argentina was whistled offsides six times to none for the Africans.
Argentina nearly went ahead in the 14th minute, when Roberto Ayala had a powerful header from about 10 yards off Juan Ramon Riquelme's corner kick. The ball bounced off the hands of goalkeeper Jean-Jacques Tizie, ricocheted against his right goalpost, then came back at least partially _ and maybe completely over the line. Tizie, his back to the field, bobbled it before gathering it in, and Argentine players argued after Belgian referee Frank De Bleeckere failed to signal a goal.
"It would have been a lot easier if that had counted," Crespo said.
Crespo, Drogba's Chelsea teammate, scored in the 24th off a free kick by Riquelme. The ball bounced off a leaping Drogba and bounced into the penalty area, where Crespo kicked it in from 5 yards for his 30th goal in 56 international appearances. Drogba argued to no avail he had been fouled by Gabriel Heinze.
Saviola is known as "El Conejo" ("The Rabbit") and he used a quick move to score in the 38th. Breaking behind the defense to receive Riquelme's through ball, Saviola was challenged as Tizie came out, and he slotted the ball in from just to the left of the penalty spot for his 10th international goal.
Kader Keita had Ivory Coast's best chance in the first half, a point-blank header in the 35th minute from 6 yards after a flick header by Drogba, but goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri stopped it.
"In the game, there was not much difference between the two teams," the Elephants' Bonaventure Kalou said, "but I think experience made the difference."

England win 1 -0

England will have to play better than they did in Saturday's 1-0 win over Paraguay if they are to win the World Cup, said coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
England got the points with an early own goal by Paraguay captain Carlos Gamarra but toiled in the heat against South American opponents who did a far better job of keeping the ball.
"I know that to win the World Cup we have to play better football, but we will play better football," Eriksson told a news conference after the Group B opener.
"I'm sure we will play better and better every game. I think it was very important to get the three points."
As for his ambitious side's display, he said: "In the first half, the first 35-40 minutes we did well, played the football we should have played and could have scored more goals.
"But in the last minutes of the first half and for long periods of the second half we suffered to keep the ball. There was a lot of possession for Paraguay.
"In football, you suffer and it was good to see the team suffer, hang on and get that result," said the Swede.
STEAMY DAY
Eriksson said the temperature had affected his team and was reminiscent of the steamy day at Shizuoka when they were dumped out of the 2002 World Cup by Brazil in the quarter-finals.
"The heat knocked us a little bit," he said. "It was the first time we'd faced temperatures like it was today.
"The players said it was hot like against Brazil in Japan four years ago."
Eriksson, who took striker Michael Owen off after 55 minutes, explained the surprise move by saying: "I wanted to see some fresh legs on the pitch.
"I wanted Joe Cole as a link between Peter Crouch and the midfield. I think Michael Owen did well and will get better and better."
The real praise was for the England rearguard, in which central defenders Rio Ferdinand and John Terry stood out.
"Our defence was great," Eriksson purred. "Even if Paraguay had the ball a lot, they didn't create many chances. I'm extremely pleased."

Ecuador upset Poland with 2-0 win

Ecuador began their World Cup campaign with a precious 2-0 win over Group A rivals Poland.

Carlos Tenorio broke the deadlock in the 24th minute with a stooping header and Agustin Delgado made the points safe for the South Americans with a simple tap-in 10 minutes from time.

Poland, who have twice finished third at the World Cup, in 1974 and in 1982, enjoyed plenty of possession but were short on ideas in the final third of the pitch, although they did hit the woodwork in the closing stages.

Ecuador, who finished behind Brazil in Argentina in their qualifying group, next face Costa Rica while Poland take on hosts Germany.

In the group's first match earlier on Friday, Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2.

Roared on by the vast majority of fans inside the Veltins Arena, Poland started brightly but Ecuador were the first to threaten, Segundo Castillo's dipping 25-yard volley comfortably saved by Artur Boruc.

Jacek Krzynowek drilled a free-kick wildly over the bar for Poland before Ecuador took the lead.

A long throw-in from the right touchline was flicked on by the gangly Delgado and Tenerio's angled header just eluded Boruc's outstretched hand for his sixth goal in 30 international appearances.

The same goalscoring combination almost doubled Ecuador's advantage five minutes later, but Delgado's cutback from the byline was blazed over the bar by Tenorio from a few yards out.

Ulises De La Cruz, Edison Mendez and Luis Valencia all had shots saved as Ecuador finished the first 45 minutes firmly in control.

Poland had Ecuador under pressure at the start of the second half and came close to levelling the score in the 52nd minute.

Miroslav Szymkowiak's superb through-ball found Krzynowek totally unmarked and clean through on goal, but after slamming the ball into the net his celebrations were cut short by a raised linesman's flag.

Ecuador captain Ivan Hurtado showed his vast experience on the hour, sliding in to block Szymkowiak's blistering shot with timely precision and keeping his side's hard-earned lead intact.

Ecuador killed off the contest in the 80th minute when substitute Ivan Kaviedes broke the offside trap before sliding the ball across goal and giving Delgado an easy tap-in.

Polish substitute Pawel Brozek hit the post in the final minute.

Germany 4-2 opening win

MUNICH - Host nation Germany got the World Cup start they wanted with a 4-2 win over Costa Rica in the opening match of the finals here on Friday.

Polish-born striker Miroslav Klose celebrated his 28th birthday with his 25th and 26th international goals to appease the home supporters, although cries from the capacity crowd suggest they were not fully convinced.

Despite being deprived of their injured captain Michael Ballack, Germany were too strong for Costa Rica, but the two goals from former West Ham United and Manchester City striker Paulo Wanchope will worry manager Jurgen Klinsmann.

However three points are on the board and they give Germany something to build on ahead of their next Group A match against Poland in Dortmund on Wednesday.

With the pressure from the home crowd tangible and audible, Germany wanted an early goal and defender Philipp Lahm duly obliged on six minutes, cutting in from the left to curl a right-footed shot into the top corner.

It was Lahm's second international goal and all the more sweet as it was on the club ground where he plays for Bayern Munich.

It was expected to open the floodgates but Costa Rica equalised five minutes later through Wanchope.

The gangly Wanchope broke the offside trap to drill a low shot past goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, making his World Cup debut, who could do nothing about it.

But the visitors looked fragile at the back and in the 17th minute Germany restored their lead through Klose.

Klose had the simple task of rolling the ball into an unguarded net after Bastian Schweinsteiger shot into his path.

Bernd Schneider, stand-in captain for the injured Ballack, was providing most of Germany's good work down the right and had released Schweinsteiger for the goal with a clever cut-back.

But while Germany looked dangerous going forward their defence looked uncertain.

Just 120 seconds into the second half Danny Fonseca had a clear header from a corner but it went wide.

Klose gave the hosts the breathing space they craved when he struck his second goal on 61 minutes, looping the ball into the net after his initial header was saved.

Wanchope pulled one back in the 73rd minute as the German defence went AWOL again but that did not stop the hosts pouring forward and Torsten Frings scored six minutes from time with a great strike from distance.