caminero strike rescues spain against france published: monday 6 october 2003, 10.55cet
josé caminero popped up five minutes from time to cancel out youri djorkaeff's effort and leave three teams vying for qualification from group b.
france and spain preserved impressive unbeaten runs with a 1-1 draw that left both sides with work to do in order to reach the quarter-finals.
treated to a tremendous atmosphere at elland road, neither side was able to put on a showing worthy of their supporters' spirit in the stands. the two teams' mutual respect for one another meant a paucity of clear-cut chances and a point apiece which guaranteed a tight three-way battle for the two qualifying berths in group b. les bleus looked well placed to be in pole position in the section thanks to youri djorkaeff's effort just after half-time, but josé caminero struck five minutes from the end to ensure the spoils were shared.
spain could have been worse off had andoni zubizarreta not pulled off a brilliant one-handed stop to keep out vincent guérin, though it was an opening not in keeping with a first half dominated by two experienced defences. three minutes after the interval the spanish rearguard was breached, djorkaeff tucking away christian karembeu's chipped pass with characteristic aplomb.
spain rallied, however, josé amavisca denied by bernard lama before caminero turned julio salinas's pull-back past the wrong-footed lama. it was a late strike which left both sides sweating on the final round of fixtures but also still in receipt of impressive undefeated sequences: spain 18 games, france 25.
