A dubious penalty won and taken by Andriy Shevchenko was enough to see Ukraine through to the next round of the World Cup at their first attempt as they beat 10-man Tunisia 1-0 on Friday.
In Group H’s other match, Spain, who also go through to the next round, defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0.
Shevchenko appeared to trip as he tussled for the ball with Tunisian defender Karim Haggui but Paraguayan referee Carlos Amarilla pointed straight to the spot and Shevchenko sent Tunisia goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel the wrong way with the kick after 70 minutes.
It was rough justice on the 2004 African Nations champions who should have been awarded one of their own minutes before when Andriy Voronin blatantly handled a goal-bound free kick from Anis Ayari but Amarilla was having none of it.
However, their exit meant that they still haven’t reached the second round of the competition in their history and more woe for coach Roger Lemerre, who is winless in six matches at two successive World Cups, having been in charge of France in 2002.
Ukraine will now face the winners of Group G — which could be France, South Korea or Switzerland depending on results later in the day — in Cologne on Monday. — AFP