The mobile midfielder Santana took the ball out of defense and released Galletti down the right wing. With Maxi Rodriguez and Saviola unmarked in the box, his measured cross landed at the former Barca prodigy’s feet and his tap in to the far corner gave Fadhel no chance.
With Tunisia losing what bite they had in the first period and losing by two goals they cannot have been delighted to see Carlos Tevez, hailed as the next big thing in Argentine football,coming on for Saviola after sixty-six minutes.
They almost reduced arrears two minutes later however as Lux produced a moment of madness out of the book of Rene Higuita, the crazy Colombian keeper remembered for his scorpion kick and reckless upfield dribbles. Having Cruff-turned Silva Dos Santos in the box, the Argentine keeper over-hit his pass to Coloccini. Selim Benachour gleefully seized upon it but snatched at his shot which agonizingly sailed wide of an empty net.
Three mintes later things got worse for Lux as he was booked as he clipped Guemamdia and Tunisia won a penalty. The referee nodded satta king repeatedly to confirm his decision but replays showed the Tunisian had dived and avoided contact, in much the same crafty way Michael Owen did against Argentina in 1998 and 2002. Guemamdia converted the kick anyway to make it 2-1.
Tevez would have made it 3-1 with a quarter of an hour to go but for Jaidi’s goal-line clearance but the 21 year old Corinthians striker, who is being closely watched by a number of big teams at this tournament, did show signs of things to come with a couple of surging runs in the dying minuets that left a string of defenders in his wake.
Dos Santos for Tunisia and Riquelme and Rodriguez for Argentina could have added to the score before the final whistle but 2-1 it finished.
Riquelme was named man of the match for his expert orchestration between midfield and attack and as well as the twin columns of Saviola and Tevez up front, the other teams will have to look out for the probing Santana and the floating Galletti, whose tousled locks, untucked shirt and
rolled down socks brought back memories of Mario Kempes in 1978.
Roger Lemerre looked stressed throughout and cannot have slept soundly whilst Carlos Pekerman the Argentine coach is well aware that tougher tests await.
“I saw some negative things but mostly positive things” he told the journalists after the game. “We have a number of young players and this tournament is important for them to gain experience” , he went on.
Soccerphile spoke to Inter defender Javier Zanetti who confirmed it was a job well done: “I am very satisfied with the result and the performance of the team as a whole” he told me. When asked about the lack of contact between Lux and Guemamdia that led to Tunisia’s goal he added, “I did not see the incident but then neither did the referee obviously but it is he who makes the decisions so we have to accpet them. But we played well today and we are looking forward to the rest of the tournament.”
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