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Spain Teenager Fabregas Sparks World Cup Rally, Wows Maradona

June 20 (Bloomberg) -- Spain teenager Cesc Fabregas rallied his team to a 3-1 World Cup win over Tunisia and was singled out for praise by former Argentina captain Diego Maradona.

With the Spaniards trailing Jaouhar Mnari's goal last night, Fabregas came on as a substitute and set up second-half goals for Raul and Fernando Torres, who added an injury-time penalty to seal Spain's place in the second round and become the tournament's leading scorer with three goals.

``Cesc gave Spain the final ball that it was lacking in the first half,'' Maradona, who led Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986, told Spanish TV station Cuatro.

When Fabregas, 19, came on during Spain's 4-0 win over Ukraine five days ago, he became the youngest Spaniard to play at a World Cup by a year. Yesterday's match-winning display in Stuttgart, Germany pushed the midfielder's claims on a starting spot for the rest of the tournament as Spain seeks to advance beyond the quarterfinals for the first time since 1950.

``That's the boss's decision,'' Fabregas told reporters after the match. ``I had the opportunity, I tried to do my best and I'm happy with what I've done.''

Fabregas, signed by Arsenal from Barcelona's youth team when he was 15, took over from former captain Patrick Vieira in the London club's midfield last season. His passing, dynamism and a quarterfinal goal against Juventus helped Arsenal reach the final of Europe's elite Champions League for the first time.

Spain coach Luis Aragones called on the teenager last night after his team fell behind in the eighth minute. Zied Jaziri rode two challenges before crossing for Mnari, who followed up his volley and smashed the ball past Spain captain Iker Casillas.

Spanish Shape

``After they scored it was hard because they got everyone behind the ball,'' Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso told reporters. ``We kept our concentration really well and didn't lose our shape in spite of having to get the victory.''

Fabregas, a half-time replacement for Marcos Senna, made an immediate impact, forcing goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel to push aside his long-range shot after 47 minutes.

With 20 minutes remaining, Fabregas again drew a diving save from Boumnijel and this time fellow-substitute Raul tapped in the rebound for his national record-extending 44th goal.

Five minutes later, Fabregas split the Tunisian defense with a pass, giving Torres enough time to take the ball around the goalie and score.

``Cesc interpreted his role really well,'' Aragones said. ``He directed the team to play our game.''

Torres converted an injury-time penalty to put himself one goal clear of a clutch of players including Germany's Miroslav Klose and Argentina's Hernan Crespo in the race for the Golden Boot, which is awarded to the tournament's top scorer.

Fabregas and his teammates, who have manufactured Spain's best-ever start to a World Cup, need only draw with Saudi Arabia on June 23 to top Group H. Their second round opponent could be France, Switzerland or South Korea.

``I hope you carrying on playing football like that,'' Maradona told Fabregas on Cuatro. ``It was spectacular.''


To contact the reporter on this story:
Sam Sheringham at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, on
  ssheringham@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: June 19, 2006 23:11 EDT

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