Football
Reuters 19y

WRAPUP-1-Germany and Argentina draw while Tunisia end with a win

By Mike Collett

NUREMBERG, Germany, June 21 - Germany finished top
of Group A in the Confederations Cup on Tuesday after a 2-2 draw
with Argentina left the South Americans in second place on goal
difference.

The two sides had already qualified for the semi-finals and
finished with seven points from three matches. African champions
Tunisia, who beat Oceania champions Australia 2-0 in Leipzig,
finished third while Australia were last after three defeats.

Germany will now face the runners-up of Group B back in
Nuremberg in Saturday's semi-final while Argentina travel to
Hanover for their semi on Sunday.

If results go as expected on Wednesday and Mexico beat
Greece in their final Group B match in Frankfurt and Brazil
avoid defeat by Japan in Cologne, Germany will face world
champions Brazil and Argentina will play Mexico at the weekend.

Though Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann was delighted to win
the group, the result was a relative disappointment for the host
nation.

They led twice and looked set to end a 13-match, five-year
run without a victory against top-level opposition until Esteban
Cambiasso hit Argentina's second equaliser with 16 minutes left.

Germany, whose last win against a top-ranked nation was
aganst England in October 2000, went ahead through Kevin Kuranyi
after 29 minutes, before man of the match Juan Roman Riquelme
equalised for Argentina with a blistering free-kick four minutes
later.

Gerald Asamoah restored Germany's lead with a well-taken
goal under pressure in the 51st minute before Cambiasso levelled
with a superb shot from outside the box that took a slight
deflection.

Second bookings for German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger
and Argentine defender Walter Samuel mean both will be suspended
from their semi-finals at the weekend.

CONSOLATION WIN

In Leipzig, Francileudo dos Santos scored both of Tunisia's
goals against Australia, tapping in after keeper Michael
Petkovic mishandled a cross in the 26th minute.

Petkovic dropped the ball after colliding with his own
defender Lucas Neill and Santos alertly got his foot on the ball
before it even hit the ground.

Santos, a native Brazilian with Tunisian citizenship, sealed
the win in the 70th minute.

The competition has certainly lived up to its billing as a
"festival of champions" with 33 goals so far scored in 10
matches heading into the final six games over the next week.

Crowds have flocked to the games with a 42,000 sellout in
Nuremberg on Tuesday and a surprisngly large crowd of 29,000 for
the dead rubber between Australia and Tunisia in Leipzig.

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