Tunisians rattled by skills of Sychev

Russia 2 Tunisia

Being part of Uefa, Russia are regarded as a European team. Yet, such is the vast spread of the Steppes, they are one of the closest nations to Japan geographically.

There were a surprising number of Russian supporters at the Kobe Wing Stadium yesterday, but for the first 55 minutes they had little to cheer. Defensively, Tunisia had proved to be much more organised than their chaotic preparation had suggested. Their attackers, meanwhile, were giving the Russians more to worry about than anticipated, given that they had gone six matches without a goal.

Then came the first roar from the Russian ranks. On the touchline was Dimitri Sychev, an 18-year-old striker known as "the Russian Michael Owen". Four minutes after his arrival, Ali Boumnijel, the hitherto composed Tunisian goalkeeper, caught a corner and threw carelessly towards his left-back.

Marat Izmailov, the corner-taker, intercepted and headed to Sychev. He attacked the Tunisian defence, the ball broke to Igor Titov, who drove it past Boumnijel from 20 yards.

Three minutes later Sychev, breaking down the left, was found by a crossfield pass from Valery Karpin. Cutting into the box, he turned inside Hatem Trabelsi only to be tripped by the Ajax player. Karpin thumped in the penalty and the points were Russia's.

Sychev, who only made his international debut in March, continued to trouble Tunisia with his quick feet and might twice have adorned his performance with a goal in the final five minutes. He was not the only Russian to impress. The performances of Ruslan Pimenov, a nimble striker, and the busy midfielder Izmailov were a tribute to the quality of Lokomotiv Moscow's youth system.

The better-known Karpin was menace on the right flank and also made the clearance of the match when, with the game scoreless, he just beat Adel Sellimi to a beautifully flighted far-post cross from Hasan Gabsi.

In midfield, the strong-running Titov showed why Bayern Munich have been tracking him while at the back the veteran Yuri Nikiforov made a series of important interceptions as the clever movement of Slim Ben Achour and Ziad Jaziri threatened to provide Tunisia with a rare goal.

Yet Oleg Romantsev, the Russian coach, was far from satisfied. He said: "The result is the perfect start but, while the game was good for spectators, as a coach I will be issuing reprimands to my players. The defence allowed too many opportunites and the attack did not take its chances."

Romantsev hopes to have both Alexei Smertin and Alexander Mostovoi, two of his best players, back for Russia's next match, against the joint-host nation Japan in Yokohama on Sunday. An intriguing match is in prospect.

Tunisia need a draw or victory against Belguim the following afternoon. Their coach, Ammar Souayah, said: "We held out for an hour against a much stronger team. We had chances before they scored but did not take them."

It must be a familiar refrain. His team have now gone more than ten hours without a goal.

Russia 2 Tunisia 0
Titov 59, Karpin pen 64

MATCH DETAILS

RUSSIA (4-4-2): Nigmatullin (Verona); Kovtun (Spartak Moscow), Nikiforov (PSV Eindhoven), Onopko (Oviedo), Solomatin (CSKA Moscow); Karpin (Celta Vigo), Titov (Spartak Moscow), Izmailov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Semshov (Torpedo Moscow); Pimenov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Beschastnykh (Spartak Moscow). Substitutes: Khokhlov (Real Sociedad) for Semshov, h-t; Sychev (Spartak Moscow) for Beschastnykh (55); Alenichev (Porto) for Izmailov, 78.

TUNISIA (4-4-2): Boumnijel (Bastia); Trabelsi (Ajax), Jaidi (Esperance), Mkacher (Etoile Sportive du Sahel), Bouzaine (Genoa); Gabsi (Genoa), Bouazizi (Bursaspor), Badra (Esperance), Ben Achour (Martigues); Jaziri (Etoile Sportive du Sahel), Sellemi (Freiburg). Substitutes: Baya (Besiktas) for Gabsi, 67; Mhadhebi (Genoa) for Sellimi, 67; Zitouni (Esperance) for Badra, 84.

Referee: P Prendergast (Jamaica).

Bookings: Russia: Semshov, Alenichev. Tunisia: Gabsi, Jaziri.

Attendance: 30,957.