The Hindu : Sport / Football : Argentina holds Germany

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Thursday, Jun 23, 2005

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Argentina holds Germany

NUREMBERG: Germany finished top of Group A in the Confederations Cup after a 2-2 draw with Argentina left the South Americans in second place on goal difference.

The two sides had already qualified for the semifinals and finished with seven points from three matches.

African champions Tunisia, who beat Oceania champions Australia 2-0 in Leipzig, finished third while Australia was last after three defeats.

Germany will now face the runner-up of Group B in Nuremberg in Saturday's semifinal while Argentina travel to Hanover for their semifinals on Sunday.

Though Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann was delighted to win the group, the result was a relative disappointment for the host nation.

It led twice and looked set to end a 13-match, five-year run without a victory against top-level opposition until Esteban Cambiasso hit Argentina's second equaliser with 16 minutes left.

Germany, whose last win against a top-ranked nation was against England in October 2000, went ahead through Kevin Kuranyi after 29 minutes, before man of the match Juan Roman Riquelme equalised for Argentina with a blistering free-kick four minutes later.

Gerald Asamoah restored Germany's lead with a well-taken goal under pressure in the 51st minute before Cambiasso levelled with a superb shot from outside the box that took a slight deflection.

Second bookings for German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and Argentine defender Walter Samuel mean both will be suspended from their semifinals at the weekend.

In Leipzig, Francileudo dos Santos scored Tunisia's goals against Australia, tapping in after keeper Michael Petkovic mishandled a cross in the 26th minute.

Petkovic dropped the ball after colliding with his own defender Lucas Neill and Santos alertly got his foot on the ball before it even hit the ground.

Santos, a native Brazilian with Tunisian citizenship, sealed the win in the 70th minute.

The competition has certainly lived up to its billing as a ``Festival of Champions'' with 33 goals so far scored in 10 matches heading into the final six games over the next week.

Crowds have flocked to the games with a 42,000 sellout in Nuremberg on Tuesday and a surprisingly large crowd of 29,000 for the dead rubber between Australia and Tunisia in Leipzig.

The results:

At Nuremberg: Germany 2 (Kevin Kuranyi, Gerald Asamoah) drew with Argentina 2 (Juan Roman Riquelme, Esteban Cambiasso)

At Leipzig: Tunisia 2 (Francileudo dos Santos (2)) bt Australia 0. — Agencies

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