 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CENTERS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
 |
Tickets for two Draw sends Ecuador, Paraguay into World Cup finals
Updated: Thursday November 08, 2001 9:40 PM
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- Ecuador clinched its first-ever World Cup finals berth Wednesday, and also sent Paraguay to the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan, drawing 1-1 with Uruguay. Striker Ivan Kaviedes headed in a cross late in the second half to salvage the tie for Ecuador and continue its surprisingly strong qualifying round. The goal revitalized a crowd of 48,000 spectators -- mostly clad yellow -- who had been subdued since Uruguay took the lead at the end of the first half on a penalty shot. Midfielder Nicolas Olivera knocked in the spot kick in the 43rd minute after defender Geovanny Espinoza was called for diving. Ecuador took control early, forcing the ball into Uruguay's side often but creating few good scoring opportunities. Uruguay goalkeeper Fabian Carini was also responsible for the lack of goals, deflecting one long-distance shot from Raul Guerron over the crossbar in the 34th minute and nabbing another by striker Augustin Delgado one minute later. Uruguay was able to convert on Olivera's penalty shot after one of its few counterattacks during the half. Ecuador came out strong in the second half, managing several crosses and long-distance shots. But it took veteran playmaker Alex Aguinaga, who has been nursing a knee injury, to come off the bench in the second half and set up the tying goal. Aguinaga lobbed a high cross from the left side, which Kaviedes flicked into the upper-right corner of the net, out of reach of a helpless Carini. Traditionally an also-ran among South America's soccer giants, Ecuador joins Argentina and Paraguay from the 10-team South American region as World Cup qualifiers. The top four teams in the region go directly to the World Cup finals, while the fifth-place team will play a two-leg playoff with Oceania champion Australia. Ecuadorans swarm streets after qualificationQUITO, Ecuador -- Thousands of Ecuadorans swarmed the streets of major cities around this Andean country on Wednesday wrapped in flags and swigging beer after the national soccer team qualified for its first World Cup. The palm-tree lined avenues of the capital were packed with teenagers donning the soccer team's yellow uniform while dancing to the blast of merengue music and car horns beeping. Few thought this poor South American country ever had a chance of qualifying for the World Cup. But the team, whose players stem mostly from neglected mountain villages north of Quito, not only earned respect from regional rivals, but renewed Ecuadorans' faith in their country, long steeped in poverty and corruption. "I'm so happy we're going to the Cup, this is the aspiration of an entire people," cried Quito resident Carmen Nunez, after the historic game. Many paid tribute to Colombian-born coach Hernan Dario Gomez, who has jumpstarted the team and created a sense of unity in a country rife with regional and ethnic divisions. "This is a triumph of Ecuadorans before the world, that shows their capacity before the world," he said after the 1-1 draw with fifth-placed Uruguay on Wednesday. The match was played in front of 45,000 spectators, some of whom had spent days camping outside the stadium under garbage-bag tents to buy tickets. Thousands more watched on giant television screens in the city's biggest park, lined by street vendors selling beer, cane liquor, and roast pig -- complete with the country's red, yellow and blue flag adorning its snout. Afterwards, locals, like 18-year old Juan Espinosa who had no plans to leave the street party, prayed for a national holiday while drinking and dancing along the capital's main avenues, where vacant stores, restaurants and even barber shops were converted into wild discotheques. Teenagers hung out of cars and buses that paraded through the streets, replacing the soccer team's former chant of, "yes we can," with an invigorated "yes we could!." "It doesn't matter that it was a tie, what matters is, we're going to the World Cup!" shouted Guayaquil-native Alejandro Mendez. --- Lineups:ECUADOR: Francisco Cevallos, Ulises de la Cruz, Ivan Hurtado, Geovanny Espinoza, Raul Guerron (Angel Fernandez), Alfonso Obregon, Edwin Tenorio, Edison Mendez, Clever Chala (Alex Aguinaga), Ivan Kaviedes (Luis Gomez), Agustin Delgado. URUGUAY: Fabian Carini, Washington Tais, Alejandro Lembo, Paolo Montero, Gianni Guigou, Marcelo Romero, Pablo Garcia, Gonzalo de los Santos, Nicolas Olivera (Vicente Sanchez), Alvaro Recoba (Diego Perez) and Dario Silva (Carlos Morales).
Reuters contributed to this report. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
