Saudi Arabia 2 Tunisia 2
Bolton defender Radhi Jaidi rescued a point for Tunisia against with an injury-time goal as their World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia finished in a 2-2 draw at Munich's Allianz Arena.
Jaidi headed home from close range three minutes into added time after Sami Al Jaber looked to have given the Saudis the win with a well-placed effort six minutes from time.
The game burst into life in the final 10 minutes after Zied Jaziri had given Tunisia the lead in the 23rd minute and Yasser Al Kahtani equalised for the Saudis 12 minutes after the restart.
With a draw looming, Al Jaber - who came on for Al Kahtani just two minutes later - gave Saudi Arabia the lead as he put the finishing touch to a rapid break.
But Jaidi was to have the final word as the Saudi defence failed to clear the ball in the dying seconds.
The draw was the least the Tunisians deserved after starting the game the brighter of the two teams - and at the end of the opening period they were good value for their lead.
With barely two minutes on the clock, Australian referee Mark Shield was forced to turn down what looked like a legitimate penalty claim from the North African side when Rehda Tuker upended Zied Jaziri.
Just six minutes later, Karim Haggui's downward header bounced high off the turf before comfortably clearing the Saudi crossbar.
Saudi Arabia offered little threat to the Tunisian goal.
Former Asian Player of the Year Nawaf Al Temyat's shot was deflected wide for a corner 14 minutes into the game while his Al Hilal team mate Yasser Al Kahtani saw his header bounce weakly to safety.
However, France-based forward Jaziri gave Tunisia the lead with an acrobatic scissor-kick from inside the penalty area in the 23rd minute after the Saudi defence struggled to clear a lofted free-kick sent into the area by Adel Chedli.
Central defender Redha Tukar came closest to putting the Saudis on the scoreboard with eight minutes left in the half, but the Al Ittihad man's well-struck free-kick was comfortably collected by Ali Boumnijel in the Tunisian goal as he dived to his right.
Al Temyat then tried his luck from long range as the game entered the last minute of the first half, but the Al Hilal midfielder's effort was wide of Boumnijel's right post.
The second half saw the Saudis finally find their rhythm and Marcos Paqueta's team could have been on level terms within two minutes of the restart.
Hamad Al Montashari played the ball from the back before Mohammad Noor wrestled his way past the Tunisian defence, only to scuff his weak effort wide.
Ten minutes later, however, the three-time Asian champions were level thanks to a lightning quick move down the right flank which dazzled the Tunisians.
Ahmed Dokhi's ball down the right flank was met by Noor and his first time cross was rifled into the roof of the net by Al Kahtani.
The game looked to be heading for a draw when Paqueta introduced Al Jaber with eight minutes to go for Al Kahtani - and the former Wolves man seared down the left before firing beyond Boumnijel's left hand to put Saudi Arabia in front for the first time in the game.
But the Saudi celebrations were to be short-lived as Jaidi capitalised on the Saudi defence's inability to clear the ball and he headed home from inside the six-yard box to give his team a share of the points.
Jaidi headed home from close range three minutes into added time after Sami Al Jaber looked to have given the Saudis the win with a well-placed effort six minutes from time.
The game burst into life in the final 10 minutes after Zied Jaziri had given Tunisia the lead in the 23rd minute and Yasser Al Kahtani equalised for the Saudis 12 minutes after the restart.
With a draw looming, Al Jaber - who came on for Al Kahtani just two minutes later - gave Saudi Arabia the lead as he put the finishing touch to a rapid break.
But Jaidi was to have the final word as the Saudi defence failed to clear the ball in the dying seconds.
The draw was the least the Tunisians deserved after starting the game the brighter of the two teams - and at the end of the opening period they were good value for their lead.
With barely two minutes on the clock, Australian referee Mark Shield was forced to turn down what looked like a legitimate penalty claim from the North African side when Rehda Tuker upended Zied Jaziri.
Just six minutes later, Karim Haggui's downward header bounced high off the turf before comfortably clearing the Saudi crossbar.
Saudi Arabia offered little threat to the Tunisian goal.
Former Asian Player of the Year Nawaf Al Temyat's shot was deflected wide for a corner 14 minutes into the game while his Al Hilal team mate Yasser Al Kahtani saw his header bounce weakly to safety.
However, France-based forward Jaziri gave Tunisia the lead with an acrobatic scissor-kick from inside the penalty area in the 23rd minute after the Saudi defence struggled to clear a lofted free-kick sent into the area by Adel Chedli.
Central defender Redha Tukar came closest to putting the Saudis on the scoreboard with eight minutes left in the half, but the Al Ittihad man's well-struck free-kick was comfortably collected by Ali Boumnijel in the Tunisian goal as he dived to his right.
Al Temyat then tried his luck from long range as the game entered the last minute of the first half, but the Al Hilal midfielder's effort was wide of Boumnijel's right post.
The second half saw the Saudis finally find their rhythm and Marcos Paqueta's team could have been on level terms within two minutes of the restart.
Hamad Al Montashari played the ball from the back before Mohammad Noor wrestled his way past the Tunisian defence, only to scuff his weak effort wide.
Ten minutes later, however, the three-time Asian champions were level thanks to a lightning quick move down the right flank which dazzled the Tunisians.
Ahmed Dokhi's ball down the right flank was met by Noor and his first time cross was rifled into the roof of the net by Al Kahtani.
The game looked to be heading for a draw when Paqueta introduced Al Jaber with eight minutes to go for Al Kahtani - and the former Wolves man seared down the left before firing beyond Boumnijel's left hand to put Saudi Arabia in front for the first time in the game.
But the Saudi celebrations were to be short-lived as Jaidi capitalised on the Saudi defence's inability to clear the ball and he headed home from inside the six-yard box to give his team a share of the points.
posted by dgarden at 8:44 am
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