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OITA, Japan (Ticker) -- Tunisia and Belgium did not resolve anything in Group H. Raouf Bouzaine hit the equalizer in the 17th minute for Tunisia, which battled to a 1-1 draw with Belgium. Bouzaine curled home a free kick from almost 35 yards out as Tunisia earned its first point of the 2002 World Cup. Just four minutes earlier, Marc Wilmots collected his second goal of the tournament, flipping home the opener from six yards out. But Belgium's winless streak in World Cup play extended to seven matches. The European nation is 0-2-5 during the span, including five straight ties. Goalkeeper Geert de Vlieger stopped Kaies Ghodhbane's injury-time blast to help secure the point for Belgium. This result keeps all four Group H teams in contention entering the final opening-round matches on Friday. Japan tops the bracket with four points, Russia trails the co-host by a point, Belgium has two and Tunisia currently occupies the cellar with just one point. But any permutation is possible when Tunisia takes on Japan and Belgium clashes with Russia. "Before, many of us were unfamiliar with each other and we are getting better with every game," Souayah said. "This point allows us to go into the game against Japan with our hope still there and our confidence still intact." "We thought that we would win this game," Belgian midfielder Yves Vanderhaeghe said. "But soon after we scored our goal, they scored one. We don't know why exactly, but we couldn't play well tonight. We tried to score another goal, but we could not make enough chances." Each team recorded eight shots and three shots on goal. The Europeans had their own injury-time opportunity. But Wesley Sonck's shot from the edge of the box rolled wide of the right post. "I'm generally satisfied," Tunisia coach Ammar Souayah said. "The players showed great spirit, great character and also great technique in parts. It was a relatively balanced match. But on the whole, I thought we had slightly the better of it." Wilmots, who also netted Belgium's first goal in Tuesday's draw against Japan, again collected the opener. Gert Verheyen's header found the Belgium captain at the edge of the six-yard box. Wilmots simply slipped the ball into the heart of the net. As in the Japan match, Belgium seemed to rely too heavily on Wilmots for offensive production. The Schalke player generated two of his country's three shots on goal. "I'm not really happy with today's game," Belgium coach Robert Waseige said. "The thought in our camp before today's game was that we were playing Tunisia and it would be an easy game. But as we saw today it was not like that. "Belgium now needs a win against Russia and it is historical that Belgium plays better against teams when they are not the favorites. I would also like to say again that the Tunisia team played well and it will be easier for us against Russia and we hope to go through to the next round." Tunisia came close to taking the lead just eight minutes before the half. Hatem Trabelsi sent in a cross from the right wing for Ziad Jaziri. But de Vlieger intercepted the pass, tipping the ball away. Trabelsi almost set up a goal six minutes into the second half. His cross found Ghodhbane, whose 20-yard volley just went just wide. |
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