6/14/2006
STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press

MUNICH, Germany (AP) — With a sudden burst, Saudi Arabia was on the verge of erasing recent World Cup embarrassment. Then Tunisia spoiled the Saudi's celebrations in the final seconds Wednesday.

Rahdi Jaidi's powerful header in injury time gave Tunisia a 2-2 tie with Saudi Arabia in the only all-Arab match of the tournament. Just a few minutes earlier, in the 84th, Sami al-Jaber gave the Saudis a lead.

Al-Jaber, who retired from the national team, then was brought back for qualifying, had entered the game moments before. He has played in four World Cups and now has scored in three after finishing off a 2-on-1 break. It was his first touch of the game.

Saudi Arabia coach Marcos Paqueta had left al-Jaber on the bench because the veteran was struggling with a thigh problem. But the 34-year-old showed his class at the first opportunity.

Tunisia pressed for the tie and got it on Jaidi's header from 6 yards off a feed from the end line by Ziad Jaziri, who scored earlier.

Four years after an 8-0 humiliation against Germany in their opening game, goals from Yasser al-Qahtani and the veteran al-Jaber put the Saudis in position for a victory — and a bonus of $27,000 per player.

Then Tunisia struck for the tie. Jaidi, a hulking defender, pushed up and was unmarked in front of the middle of the goal to head in Jaziri's pinpoint pass.

Each team has one point, behind Group H favorite Spain, which routed Ukraine 4-0 earlier Wednesday.

The Tunisians took the lead in the 23rd minute, when the Saudi defense failed to clear a corner kick and Jaziri thumped the ball hard and high into the top-left corner of the Saudi net.

But Saudi Arabia slowly recovered its poise, with midfielder Nawaf al-Temyat at the center of increasingly dangerous moves.

It earned a string of free kicks and corners, and Tunisia's 40-year-old goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel, the oldest player in the tournament, had to dive sharply to hold a dangerous free kick by Redha Takar in the 37th minute.

The pressure paid off in the 57th at the end of a smooth passing move. Noor Mohammed got behind Tunisia's David Jemmali down the right side and crossed low and hard for al-Qahtani to clip the ball past Boumnijel at the near post.