Two Goals by Tomasson Give Denmark 2-1 Win

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, June 01, 2002

Two Goals by Tomasson Give Denmark 2-1 Win

Two goals from striker Jon Dahl Tomasson gave Denmark a 2-1 victory over Uruguay in their opening World Cup group A match Saturday in Ulsan, South Korea.

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Two Goals by Tomasson Give Denmark 2-1 Win

Two goals from striker Jon Dahl Tomasson gave Denmark a 2-1 victory over Uruguay in their opening World Cup group A match Saturday in Ulsan, South Korea.

Seven minutes from the final whistle, Tomasson scored his second goal of the game to seal the hard-fought victory.

Second-half substitute Martin Jorgensen found Tomasson unmarked in the middle of the box and the AC Milan-bound striker netted again after his header deflected off the bar.

Tomasson, 25, who has signed for AC Milan from Dutch club Feyenood Rotterdam at the end of this season, had opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime.

Denmark, who humiliated the Uruguayans 6-1 in the 1986 World Cup, could have broken the deadlock in the 11th minute but striker Ebbe Sand's deflected header agonizingly hit the bar.

As the match wore on, the Danes took the upper hand on a strong attacking quartet Sand, Jon Dahll Tomasson, Jesper Gronkjaer and Dennis Rommedahl.

Uruguay could only threaten the Danish defense through playmaker Alvaro Recoba. The Inter Milan forward went close twice with excellent free-kicks.

The gray-haired striker Dario Silva wasted a good chance in the 39th minute. He headed a Recoba high pass onto the head of a Danish defender.

As the first half headed for a goalless draw, Tomasson excited the 40,000 fans at the Ulsan World Cup stadium as he netted an exquisite left cross from Gronkjaer.

But Uruguay leveled the score only one minute after the interval. Defender Dario Rogriguez unleashed a powerful shot from outside the penalty into the up right corner of the net.

Recoba, a constant threat to the Danish team, forced a brilliant save of goalie Thomas Sorensen with a long shot before he was substituted by Mario Regueiro in the 79th minute.

The Uruguayans, inspired by the equalizer, appeared on a high until Tomasson struck again.

"After 25 minutes, we good a good grip on the game," said Denmark coach Morten Olsen. "Everybody knows the first game is very important in a World Cup for your confidence, and I think we deserved to win it. Physically, we were the better team."

The result leaves Denmark tied alongside Senegal at the top of Group A with three points. France, who lost 1-0 to Senegal Friday, and Uruguay have 0 points.

Denmark plays Senegal Thursday and Uruguay meet France the same day.

"France is still the favorite for me. I think they will be very difficult to play against," Olsen said.

Teams

Uruguay (4-3-1-2): 1-Fabian Carini; 2-Gustavo Mendez,14-Gonzalo Sorondo, 4-Paolo Montero, 6-Dario Rodriguez(11-Federico Magallanes 87); 8-Gustavo Varela, 5-Pablo Garcia,7-Gianni Guigou; 20-Alvaro Recoba (17-Mario Regueiro 80);13-Sebastian Abreu (18-Richard Morales 88), 9-Dario Silva.

Denmark (4-4-2): 1-Thomas Sorensen; 6-Thomas Helveg, 4-Martin Laursen, 3-Rene Henriksen, 5-Jan Heintze (12-Niclas Jensen 58);19-Dennis Rommedahl, 2-Stig Tofting, 7-Thomas Gravesen, 8-Jesper Gronkjaer (10-Martin Jorgensen 70); 9-Jon Dahl Tomasson, 11-Ebbe Sand (17-Christian Poulsen 88).

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