Argentina Dominates Tunisia in Opener

Though the final score was a little closer than some had expected, Argentina left no doubt who was the master on the field.

Coach Jose Pekerman's side, missing stars like Hernan Crespo and Juan Sebastian Veron, nevertheless controlled play virtually from the start. Tunisia was left rueing an early missed penalty shot that might have changed the flow of the match. And referee Roberto Rosetti will probably want to review the game tape to take a second look at some of his calls.

Tunisia started quick in the first half, as Argentina found itself confounded by the coach Roger Lemerre's disciplined backfield. Still, a couple of close calls came right at the beginning, when Saviola failed to get past goalie Khaled Fadhel in the 14th minute, and Galletti's header went above the crossbar a minute later.

Penalty shot on counter

Tunisia rarely ventured into the Argentine half of the field after an initial storm of action. When they did, it was usually on dangerous counters. Shortly after Galletti's chance, Tunisia replied.

Sprung forward on the left side of the field, Haykel Guemamdia ran hard after a ball, and goalie German Lux cut him down on the bottom side of the penalty box close to the goal. Referee Rosetti didn't hesitate in awarding a penalty shot. But Imed Mhadhebi sent his shot wide and to the left, squandering an opportunity that would have been so valuable later.

Riquelme gives Gauchos the lead

Argentina started taking control after the 20th minute. Playmaker Juan Riquelme distributed some nice passes around the top of the penalty area. In the 32nd minute, Rosetti pointed to the spot after a dubious fall by Argentine defender Maximiliano Rodriguez. Replays showed the call was anything but 100 percent, but Riquelme calmly slotted in the penalty to give Argentina the lead.

The Gauchos played patient at the second half, giving Tunisia the opportunity to come into their side of the field. But Gabriel Heinze, Fabricio Coloccini and co. kept the door shut tight. In the 57th minute, Luciano Galletti was sprung down the right side.

Left unmarked until the last moment, he had time to pick out a charging Saviola who pocketed the ball in the left side of the net for a 2-0 lead.

Tunisia claws back

Shaky Argentine keeper German Lux then almost let Tunisia back into the game when he weakly cleared a ball directly to a charging Slim Benachour. But the Tunisian midfielder's shot at the 67th minute went just right of the goal.

But his side would soon get their chance. Guemamdia ended up one on one with Lux again, and fell as the keeper dove for his feet. Replays showed the Tunisian striker took off nice and early, completely missing Lux's outstretched fingertips. But Rosetti pointed to the spot. Guemamdia took the penalty himself this time, slotting it into the corner and making it interesting again in the 72nd minute.

The two sides traded a couple of opportunities in the closing phase of the match, but both keepers showed they were on point. Tunisia showed it didn't have a solution for the solid Argentine defense in font of Lux, and bowed to a superior opponent.