Bierhoff the great leveller

At last, 12 days and 29 games into a tournament which almost seemed inclined to satisfy rather than enthrall, a match to cherish.

Lens hardly seems the place for top-class sport but yesterday, in the baking heat, among the slag heaps and the grey municipal buildings of a sleepy town, the 1998 World Cup truly came alive.

The only thing missing as an extraordinary game ended in tumultuous acclaim from a mesmerised audience was a winner. Of course, we didn't need one and in any case the point gathered by both Germany and Yugoslavia will surely hasten their progress into the second round.

It was a mixed day for Germany's elder statesmen. Whereas Lothar Matthaus made his record-breaking 22nd finals appearance, Jurgen Klinsmann was carried off unconscious after a kick on the head by Vladimir Jugovic. The coach Berti Vogts, however, expects his talisman to recover in time for the final group fixture against Iran.

Yugoslavia should have won by a distance. Germany, so awful for so long, will take solace from the fluency they belatedly achieved but will count themselves fortunate to have recovered from an hour or so in purgatory.

"To say that we did not play well for most of this game would be to understate things," said Vogts. "But as a coach I take comfort from the way in which we pulled ourselves round, the way in which we dug deep to find something special."

If Yugoslavia's dominance of a refined afternoon - only one yellow card - was unexpected, it seemed inevitable once Germany had decided to pay scant attention to detail. At the age of 33 the Yugoslav captain Dragan Stojkovic may have reached the brow of the hill, but when presented with time and space, when invited to pick up the conductor's baton, he invariably managed to find the right note.

In the 13 minutes prior to Yugoslavia's first goal it was vintage stuff indeed. After posting an early warning with a splendid low drive, Stojkovic dropped anchor in midfield and pulled from less-celebrated colleagues performances of bravado.

When Germany's sloppiness was finally punished it was a curious tragi-comedy. Predrag Mijatovic's curling cross from the left was at best hopeful but, as defenders looked on, the 19-yearold Dejan Stankovic swung his boot to make the faintest of contacts. With Andreas Kopke having raced from his line, the ball journeyed towards goal, whereupon Jens Jeremies opted to allow it to strike a post before attempting his clearance. As the ball spun off the woodwork it hit Jeremies on the chest, he fell over in Chaplinesque fashion and Yugoslavia were ahead.

And mighty Germany's response? Not much, actually. They filled the remainder of the half with crosses. Long, high, short, low, slow, quick - any cross would do. The problem was, Klinsmann and Oliver Bierhoff never seemed likely to connect. Yugoslavia didn't bother with crosses, they simply strolled towards goal as if out shopping.

The resistance was flimsy, wet tissue-paper stuff as chance after chance was served up, the best falling to Darko Kovacevic after 33 minutes. Germany were jeered off at the interval. They deserved no better.

Matthaus clambered off the bench for the second half - becoming only the second player to feature in five finals - but this was likely to be a day for younger legs. Still, even when Ulf Kirsten was introduced as a third striker, German feet were leaden, their hearts equally heavy. And then Yugoslavia scored again. It was another calamitous blunder. Kovacevic's cross from the byline should have been meat and drink to a goalkeeper of Kopke's pedigree, but he allowed the ball to slip through his fingers into the path of Stojkovic, who was smiling wickedly even before applying boot to ball.

But Germany had fooled us all. With 17 minutes remaining and the Yugoslavs tiring, the substitute Michael Tarnat's fiercely driven free-kick was deflected by Sinisa Mihailovic beyond his own goalkeeper.

Nor were Germany done. Ten minutes to go and Bierhoff finally managed to reach one of those infernal crosses, rising magnificently to turn in an Olaf Thon corner. Absolutely fabulous.

"We were down and out, but in the final 25 minutes we showed we were able to transform a defeat into virtually a victory," said Vogts. "For around 60 or 65 minutes, I was very angry with the players. Some of them didn't seem to be aware that we are at the World Cup. It was only by making a few adjustments that we managed to achieve what had seemed impossible," Vogts said.

"I must compliment the Yugoslav players, although at the end they tried to slow it down to walking pace and didn't try to get the third goal. They were severely punished for that. What put them under pressure was our revamped midfield after Matthaus and Tarnat came on, as well as the aggressiveness of Ulf Kirsten in attack.

"We want to finish top of this group and from tomorrow we'll make damn sure we set about achieving that end."

For Yugoslav coach Slobodan Santrac, there was disappointment at the final result but also evidence at the strength of his side.

"I am happy and sad. It was a good result but it was a pity they managed to level right at the end," he said. "We know the German team well and we knew they wouldn't lie down until the final whistle even when they were 2-0 down. "The own-goal gave them a chance to get back in it and they took it. But generally I'm pleased with my team's performance."