Victory Keeps Ukraine's World Cup Dreams Alive; Spain Wins

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – A Spanish squad full of substitutes beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 Friday to clinch first place in Group H, while Ukraine became the first former Soviet country to advance beyond the group stage with a 1-0 win over Tunsia.

Center back Juanito Gutierrez headed in Spain's goal on a long free kick from Jose Antonio Reyes in the 36th minute.

The result extended Spain's unbeaten streak under Aragones to 25 matches. Saudi Arabia exited its fourth consecutive World Cup with only one point from its opening draw with Tunisia.

With Spain already through to the knockout stage after wins against Ukraine and Tunisia, Aragones rested his regulars against the Saudis. Seven of Friday's starters had never played a World Cup match.

Several Spanish players, including striker Joaquin Sanchez and Reyes, may have increased their chances of winning spots with their performances at the Fritz-Walter Stadium, with Spanish King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in the crowd.

Spain scored when Reyes sent a curling free kick from the left flank and Gutierrez, outsmarting the defense, connected with a perfectly timed header that stunned goalkeeper Mabrouk Zayed. It was Gutierrez's second goal for Spain.

Spanish keeper Santiago Canizares, filling in for Iker Casillas, was tested for the first time 12 minutes into the second half when he saved Hussein Abdul-Ghani's outside shot. The Saudis threatened late in the match, but couldn't finish.

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Andriy Shevchenko scored on a penalty kick in the 70th minute to lead Ukrain to a 1-0 victory over Tunisia.

Tunisia, which needed to win to reach the second round, had its hopes dented when its only fit striker, Ziad Jaziri, was sent off in the last minute of a scoreless first half with his second yellow card.

Shevchenko scored his second goal of the tournament after going down on light contact as he ran between Tunisia goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel and defender Karim Hagui. He had called for and received a long ball then sprinted toward the goal.

Ukraine joins Ghana as the only two of six newcomers in Germany to reach the second round. The Ukrainians will play their second-round match on Monday in Cologne against the second-place team from Group G.

Ukraine, which gained its independence in 1991, was the second former-Soviet republic to qualify for the tournament. Russia was knocked out in the group stage in 1994 and 2002.

Ukraine had already proved it was a threat to challenge for the title when it became the first European team to qualify for the final tournament, losing only once in the preliminaries.

Ukraine is home to 1999 Champions League semifinalist Dynamo Kiev, but the country has been slow to make its mark internationally. Many of the key players in the Soviet national team hailed from Ukraine, but with the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, they chose to play for Russia.

Since its independence, Ukraine had its hopes of entering the World Cup dashed twice at the last stage.