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Red Devils edge Russia Late goals send Belgium into second roundPosted: Friday June 14, 2002 2:35 AMUpdated: Friday June 14, 2002 5:50 AM
SHIZUOKA, Japan (Reuters) -- Belgium scored twice in the last 12 minutes to seal a thrilling 3-2 victory over Russia on Friday and a place in the World Cup's second round. Vladimir Beschastnykh's second-half equalizer looked to have earned Russia a place in the last 16 but strikes by substitute Wesley Sonck and captain Marc Wilmots ended Belgium's five-match streak of World Cup finals draws and set up a clash with Brazil. Russian substitute Dmitry Sychev scored two minutes from time to give his side hope, but it was too late. Belgium finished runner-up in group H on five points, two behind Japan and two ahead of the Russians who failed to qualify for the second round for their third straight World Cup.
Belgium's under-fire coach Robert Waseige was delighted with his team's resilience and hit back at his recent critics. "I am very happy of course," Waseige said. "We have had a lot of critics, particularly at home, so we are really happy to have won this match and to reach the next round. "It's a great honor to meet the eternal Brazil. I feel a great pride ahead of this match, for any team playing Brazil is a great reward in itself. We will have to be at the top of our form." Waseige's side started brightly knowing it needed a victory to keep alive its hopes of progressing and full merited its lead when Johan Walem superbly curled a free kick into the top corner from 25 meters. Mbo Mpenza and Gert Verheyen, twice, had excellent chances to increase the lead in the opening period against a misfiring Russian team. Russia, with unfit playmaker Alexander Mostovoi again on the substitutes' bench, looked devoid of attacking menace in a terrible first-half display. Romantsev, his job on the line, lost patience after 34 minutes and brought on 18-year-old striker Sychev but Russia suffered another blow before the interval when central defender Yuri Nikiforov had to come off with a calf injury.
Sychev's arrival on the pitch had sparked Russia to its 2-0 victory over Tunisia and it looked a little better at the start of the second period. But its goal came out of nothing. Dmitry Khokhlov loped forward and found Sychev streaking clear. When his shot was saved, Beschastnykh gleefully snapped up the rebound. Stung by the goal, Belgium desperately poured forward in search of another goal but central defender Viktor Onopko, winning his 100th cap for Russia, kept its rearguard well protected until Sonck powered in a header eight minutes after coming on. Wilmots scored with a deflected shot four minutes later and Sychev's late goal was a mere consolation for Russia. "Frankly, Belgium were the better team today," said Russian assistant coach Sergei Pavlov. "We did not have much luck in the match. A number of our players played at their best but generally we did not perform well enough." "Towards the end we were trying to keep the score as it was (1-1) and it was that that harmed us. "I want to congratulate Belgium on their victory, though, and wish them good success in their future games in the tournament." "It's a great tragedy as far as I'm concerned and all the players are very upset about it," said defender Viktor Onopko. Russia without playmaker MostovoiSHIZUOKA, Japan (AP) -- Russia was without its star player, offensive midfielder Alexander Mostovoi, at the start of its crucial final Group H match against Belgium on Friday.Mostovoi missed the first two games with a thigh injury but had been hoping to make it back in time for the final group stage match. He was listed as available to come on as a substitute. Russian captain Viktor Onopko is making his 100th international appearance. The 32-year-old sweeper, who plays for Spain's Oviedo, is a Ukrainian but when the Soviet Union was dissolved he chose to play for Russia. Belgium was boosted with the return of Schalke 04 left back Nico Van Kerckhoven, who had missed the first two games with a groin injury. Belgian coach Robert Waseige made four changes from the team that drew 1-1 with Tunisia on Monday while Russia's Oleg Romantsev changed three of the players that lost to Japan. Belgium has drawn both its games so far -- and all three games it played in the last tournament, in 1998 -- but will need a victory to advance. Russia has three points from its victory over Tunisia and a tie likely would be enough to see it through, but the team's loss to Japan last Sunday provoked rioting in the streets of Moscow. Any of the four teams in Group H could qualify at the end of Friday's concurrent matches, but the winner of the Russia-Belgium match would be guaranteed a place in the second round. Japan needs only a tie in its match against Tunisia to advance. Romantsev has said he will quit if the team does not advance to the second round of the competition. Score Summary:Belgium 3 Russia 2 - result World Cup, group H Scorers: Belgium - Johan Walem 7, Wesley Sonck 78, Marc Wilmots 82 Russia - Vladimir Beschastnykh 52, Dmitry Sychev 88 Yellow cards: Belgium - Yves Vanderhaeghe 39 Russia - Andrei Solomatin 12, Alexei Smertin 14, Dmitry Alenichev 64, Dmitry Sennikov 84 Halftime: 1-0; Attendance: 46,640 Teams:Belgium (4-4-2): 1-Geert De Vlieger; 5-Nico Van Kerckhoven, 16-Daniel Van Buyten, 3-Glen de Boeck (4-Eric Van Meir 90), 15-Jacky Peters; 11-Gert Verheyen (6-Timmy Simons 79), 18-Yves Vanderhaeghe, 10-Johan Walem, 8-Bart Goor; 22-Mbo Mpenza (9-Wesley Sonck 70), 7-Marc Wilmots Russia (3-5-2): 1-Ruslan Nigmatullin; 2-Yuri Kovtun, 3-Yuri Nikiforov (18-Dmitry Sennikov 42), 7-Viktor Onopko; 5-Andrei Solomatin, 4-Alexei Smertin (22-Dmitry Sychev 34), 8-Valery Karpin (16-Alexander Kerzhakov 84), 9-Yegor Titov, 21-Dmitry Khokhlov; 11-Vladimir Beschastnykh, 15-Dmitry Alenichev Referee: Kim Milton Neilsen (Denmark) Linesmen: Philip Sharp (England), Komaleeswaran Sankar (Indonesia)
The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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