Belarus beats New Zealand 1-0 at Olympics
Jul. 26 5:20 PM EDT
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Belarus' Aleksei Kozlov, left, battles for the ball against New Zealand's Kosta Barbarouses, right, during the group C men's soccer match between Belarus and New Zealand at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, in Coventry, England, Thursday, July 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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New Zealand's Marco Rojas, left, battles for the ball against Belarus' Dmitry Baga, left, during the group C men's soccer match between Belarus and New Zealand at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, in Coventry, England, Thursday, July 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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New Zealand's Ryan Nelsen, background, jumps for the ball against Belarus' Ilya Aleksievich, foreground, during the group C men's soccer match between Belarus and New Zealand at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, in Coventry, England, Thursday, July 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
COVENTRY, England (AP) — Dmitry Baga scored in the first half to give Belarus a 1-0 win over New Zealand in their Group C opener at the Olympics on Thursday.
Baga converted a header just before halftime, and Belarus held on to the narrow lead to secure the three points at City of Coventry Stadium.
Belarus dominated the first half, but New Zealand came out strong in the second half. It just was unable to break through the Europeans' defense.
Belarus faces tournament favorite Brazil on Sunday in its second game of the group stage. New Zealand plays Egypt.
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