SYDNEY, 7 June 2004 — The Solomon Islands stunned Australia 2-2 yesterday to go through to the final round of the Oceania World Cup qualifiers ahead of New Zealand.
Australia won the group with 13 points but the draw in Adelaide meant the Solomon Islands, ranked 154th by FIFA, finished second, one point ahead of New Zealand, who lost to Vanuatu and Australia in their previous matches. The Solomon Islands will face Australia in a two-legged tie in September 2005 with the winners taking on the fifth-ranked South American team.
In yesterday’s other second stage matches, New Zealand beat Fiji 2-0 and Tahiti defeated Vanuatu 2-1. Australia struggled to overcome their little-known opponents and trailed 1-0 at half-time. Striker Commins Menapi scored in the 44th minute for the visitors and again in the second half while Australia relied on goals from Tim Cahill and Brett Emerton with a volley to save the Socceroos from complete embarrassment.
A Che Bunce header gave New Zealand the lead against Fiji in the eighth minute.
New Zealand defender Duncan Oughton headed the ball off his own line after Fiji’s Laisiasa Gataurua put a bouncing shot past goalkeeper Mark Paston on 55 minutes.
But a minute later striker Vaughan Coveny headed a Brett Fisher cross into the net to seal the win. Tahiti climbed off the bottom of the table when a late goal from Gabriel Wajoka gave them victory over Vanuatu. Axel Temataua had earlier scored for Tahiti, who had been goalless before yesterday’s match. Richard Iwai scored for Vanuatu.
Germany Stunned 2-0 at Home by Hungary
In Kaiserslautern, Germany stumbled to an embarrassing 2-0 home defeat by Hungary in their final warm-up for Euro 2004 yesterday.
Two first-half goals from striker Sandor Torghelle gave the visitors a surprise victory over a lackluster German side, who failed to take inspiration from West Germany’s 3-2 triumph over the same opponents in the 1954 World Cup final.
Swiss Scrape Past Liechtenstein in Final Warm-Up
In Zurich, Switzerland edged past Liechtenstein 1-0 in their final Euro 2004 warm-up match yesterday courtesy of a late strike from midfielder Daniel Gygax.
Gygax struck home from the edge of the penalty area as the game entered stoppage time to save Switzerland from an embarrassing draw with their semi-professional neighbors.
The last-gasp win came just a week before their first match against Croatia in Portugal next Sunday, before also meeting England and holders France in Group B. Switzerland had numerous chances to make the game safe before Gygax struck but Liechtenstein goalkeeper Peter Jehle denied strikers Alex Frei and Stephane Chapuisat with excellent saves in the first half.
Latvia Held to 2-2 Draw by Azerbaijan
In Riga, surprise Euro 2004 qualifiers Latvia were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Azerbaijan yesterday, failing to give the small Baltic nation a confidence boost before the Portugal finals.
Latvia, in their final warm-up friendly before their Group D opener against the Czech Republic on June 15, struggled in an uneventful first half in which the visitors created the only two scoring chances. But Latvia came out from the break looking much more aggressive, Dynamo Kiev striker Maris Verpakovskis giving the hosts the lead in the 53rd minute with a diving header.
