Second-half strikes give Russia victory

Russia scored two second-half goals within five minutes to defeat Tunisia 2-0 in Group H of the World Cup on Wednesday.

Egor Titov scored blasted home with his right-foot in the 59th minute and Valery Karpin finished off a penalty kick in the 64th as the Russians won their first World Cup game since 1996.

Both teams opened with early approaches on goal at the 42,000-capacity Kobe Wing stadium as Tunisian goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel backpedaled to punch away a free kick from Russia's Valery Karpin.

The Russian attack improved as the first half wore on, testing a sprited, but inexperienced Tunisian team coached by Frenchman Henri Michel, who has guided four different teams to the World Cup.

Hassen Gabsi thought he had given Tunisia the lead in the 52nd minute, but an offsides call nullified his right-footed shot that had found the back of the net.

The Tunisian attack lacked cohesion early on but improved in the second half. But the Russians created more opportunities and took advantage of them.

Russia is appearing in the World Cup finals for the ninth time after failing to qualify for the past two tournaments. Russian coach Oleg Romantsev has said he will step quit if the team does not advance to the second round.