Story ProgressBack to home
Spain's reserves beat Saudi Arabia 1-0
Spain fielded a team of reserves on Friday and still beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 to top Group H at the World Cup.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 10:34 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Kaiserslautern:
Spain fielded a team of reserves on Friday and still beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 to top Group H at the World Cup. Coach Luis Aragones told his fringe players to try and earn a spot on the team for the second round and several impressed. Central defender Juanito Gutierrez headed in Spain's goal from a free-kick by Jose Antonio Reyes in the 36th minute. Spain won the group with a maximum nine points and extended its unbeaten streak under Aragones to 25 matches. It will play its second round game in Hanover on Tuesday against the runner-up from Group G, which contains 1998 champion France and 2002 semifinalist South Korea. Saudi Arabia exited its fourth consecutive World Cup with only one point from its opening draw with Tunisia. With Spain already through to the knockout stage after wins against Ukraine and Tunisia, Aragones decided to rest his regular starters against the Saudis and give his backup players a chance. Seven had never played a World Cup match before. Spain got its goal when Reyes sent a curling free kick from the left and Juanito, outsmarting his marker, connected with a perfectly timed header past goalkeeper Mabrouk Zayed. It was the Real Betis defender's second goal for Spain. Spanish keeper Santiago Canizares, who was filling in for Iker Casillas, was tested for the first time 12 minutes into the second half when he saved Hussein Abdul-Ghani's shot. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
Football
Get the Latest IPL 2024 Updates, check out IPL 2024 schedules and IPL points table at NDTV Sports.Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more sports updates. You can also download the NDTV Cricket app for Android or iOS.