The Hindu : Sport / Football : Ballack leads Germany to victory

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 17, 2005

Sport

Sport - Football

Ballack leads Germany to victory

FRANKFURT: Former World Cup champions Argentina and Germany got off to winning starts on Wednesday on the opening day of the Confederations Cup football.

Captain Michael Ballack scored a go-ahead goal and set up the winner to lead Germany to a 4-3 victory over Australia.

In the other Group `A' game, Argentina defeated Tunisia 2-1.

While the win made the home fans happy, Germany's inexperienced defence was exposed again and goalkeeper Oliver Kahn's 36th birthday was spoiled by three goals in his net, two of them coming from striker John Aloisi.

With the two teams level at 2-2 after the first half, Ballack scored the third goal in the 60th minute with a penalty and set up Lukas Podolski for the eventual match-winner in the 88th.

Spectacular saves

Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer kept his team in the game, making three spectacular saves early in the second half before Ballack broke through.

Germany took a 1-0 lead in the 17th. After Australia had been applying pressure, Germany counterattacked with defender Arne Friedrich sending a long, low ball into the area that Kevin Kuranyi deflected behind Schwarzer.

Australia responded quickly. On a free kick from 20 metres (yards), Josip Skoko slipped the ball on the ground through a wall of defenders, beating Kahn diving to his right in the 21st.

Two minutes later, there was another German goal as defender Per Mertesacker controlled a bouncing ball off a corner, and volleyed home from close range, his first goal for Germany.

In the 31st, Australia equalised again. Aloisi came down the left, got in at a deep angle, and beat Kahn on a close-range, left-footed shot.

Germany opened quickly in the second half. After only four minutes, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ballack both forced Schwarzer to make diving saves.

In the 54th, Schwarzer made another diving save on a 20-metre (yard) drive from Torsten Frings. In the 56th, Schwarzer scrambled to stop a close-in header from Kuranyi.

Germany went up 3-2 when Ballack converted a penalty in the 60th after Australia's Ljubo Milicevic was called for tripping Friedrich in the area.

Podolski scored 28 minutes later, beating Schwarzer from close range.

Australia made it 4-3 on a second-half injury time goal by Aloisi.

Always facing high expectations, Argentina defeated Tunisia on goals by Juan Riquelme and Javier Saviola.

Two-time World Cup champion Argentina had a so-so opening game. It looked like it could always score, but frequently lost possession quickly.

Had Tunisia's Imed Mhadhebi not missed an 18th-minute penalty, it might have been a different outcome for the African champion.

The eight-team tournament is a prelude to next year's 32-team World Cup finals in Germany.

The results: Group A: Germany 4 (Kuranyi, Mertesacker, Ballack, Podolski) bt Australia 3 (Skoko, Aloisi (2)).

Argentina 2 (Riquelme, Saviola) bt Tunisia 1 (Guemamdia). — Agencies

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport