KIEV - Michael Ballack canceled out a Hennady Zubov strike as Germany earned a 1-1 draw against Ukraine in the first leg of their World Cup playoff yesterday.
Zubov put his team ahead in the 17th minute when he picked up a rebound following Andriy Shevchenko's 30-meter free kick and beat German keeper Oliver Kahn from close range.
But Ballack equalized in the 31st minute after latching on to a Bernd Schneider free kick to silence a near capacity 83,000-strong home crowd at Kiev's Olympic Stadium.
German coach Rudi Voeller was satisfied with the outcome and his team's performance.
"I'm very pleased with my team's performance tonight, but I'll be even happier if we give the same effort in the second leg," he said. "We didn't panic after giving up the first goal and everybody on our team deserves credit for their performance."
In Dublin, two goals in six minutes gave Ireland a deserved 2-0 win over Iran in the first leg of their World Cup playoff, ensuring a satisfactory cushion ahead of the return leg in Tehran next Thursday.
Defender Ian Harte struck from the penalty spot a minute before halftime after a foul on Jason McAteer, and striker Robbie Keane lashed home a second goal five minutes into the second period.
Manager Mick McCarthy's players lived dangerously at times and they were forced to strain every nerve and sinew to extend their 16-match unbeaten record.
They were also thankful for goalkeeper Shay Given's crucial saves from Ali Karimi early in the second half, and McCarthy's pre-match warning that they would not finish the job at Lansdowne Road was borne out to the full.
Slovenia beats Romania 2-1
Slovenia rallied from behind to beat favorite Romania 2-1 with two spectacular goals in the first-leg of a World Cup playoff. Romania opened the scoring after Marius Niculae clumsily latched onto a cross in the 26th minute and his uncontrolled shot deflected off a defender's foot and looped over goalkeeper Marko Simeunovic into the net.
Slovenia buckled down after the goal and equalized just before halftime through Mile Acimovic, who glanced in a cross with his head from the far side in the 42nd minute.
The sloppiness in front of goal was costly for the Romanians when moments later Hapoel Tel Aviv's Milan Osterc drove in the match-winning goal from a difficult angle outside the box.
Belgium 1, Czech Rep. 0
A first-half goal from Belgian forward Gert Verheyen secured Belgium a 1-0 win against the Czech Republic in the first leg of their World Cup playoff qualifier.
Belgium took early advantage of a momentary Czech weakness in midfield to score on a quick free kick from Red Devils midfielder Sven Vermant, who passed the ball to forward and team captain Verheyen. Verheyen then snapped it past Czech goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek in the 28th minute.
The goal was Verheyen's eighth playing for the national team.
Austria 0, Turkey 1
Turkey gained a vital 1-0 win in the away leg of their World Cup playoff against Austria last night, thanks to a 60th minute goal from Okan Buruk.