Super Spain Star as Germany March On

World Cup - Day Six
By Chris O'Brien
June 15 2006

Spain captured the headlines on the sixth day of the World Cup with a 4-0 drubbing of the Ukraine. There was also a last-gap win for hosts Germany, whilst Tunisia and Saudi Arabia battled out a 2-2 draw in Munich.

No Manchester United players were in action on the sixth day of the World Cup finals in Germany.

It was another thrilling day of international action as Spain underlined their intentions to finally shake off their "underachievers" logo with a comfortable 4-0 victory over 10-man Ukraine. Xabi Alonso headed the Spanish ahead early-on, with David Villa doubling the lead soon after. Villa put the game beyond doubt from the penalty-spot, before Fernando Torres rounded things off with a superb strike. Vladislav Vashchuk was dismissed for Ukraine, who were outplayed throughout.

Meanwhile, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia battled out a 2-2 draw in Munich. As 66,000 watched on, Ziad Jaziri gave the Tunisians a 23rd-mintue lead but parity was restored after the interval through a nifty strike from Yasser Al Kahtani. Sami Al Jaber, Saudi Arabia's record goalscorer, looked to have secured a famous win on 84 minutes, only for Bolton defender Radhi Jaidi to level things up with a last-gasp header. The result works in favour of Group G's Ukraine, who can now easily recover from their early humiliation against Spain.

Germany and Poland battled out the final game of the day, and became the first teams to play two matches during the finals. The Poles, shock losers to Ecuador in their opening game, defended superbly for much of the game even with Radoslaw Sobolewski sent-off for a second bookable offence on 75 minutes. However, Oliver Neuville was the host nation's hero as he fired home the winner from close-range in injury-time to leave Germany on the verge of qualification to the second-round.