12 - 18 July 2001
Issue No.542
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 12 - 18 July 2001 Issue No.542 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
World is forewarned
Egypt's under-20 side took third place in the Youth World Cup, giving notice of things to come, Alaa Shahine writes
While Egypt's senior national team is busy figuring what odds it has of reaching the World Cup finals, the U-20 side needed to do no such mathematics following its outright third place finish in the Youth World Cup in Argentina.
Egypt edges Paraguay 1-0 to take third place and tastes a world class victory
(photo: AFP)
After edging Paraguay 1-0 on Sunday in the third place playoff, the squad became the first Egyptian team to finish so high atop a world soccer tournament. The only comparable achievement on a world scale was sixth place in the 2000 world futsal championship in Guatemala. The win gave fair warning to the senior squad that it had better look behind it for the littler Pharaohs will soon by vying for a place with the big boys.
In the final, Argentina dealt Ghana a 3-0 drubbing to win a record fourth title.
Against Paraguay Egypt had the upper hand in the fast-paced match throughout and created most of the chances. Mohamed El-Yamani was the architect of the victory after blasting a right-foot shot in the second half.
Egypt started the match with a style. Eight minutes into the kick-off, Ahmed Samir sent a well-curved cross to El-Yamani who warded off a defensive tackle to find himself alone on goal, only to be foiled by keeper Edwardo Caceres. The Egyptians were denied a penalty in the 28th minute after Ahmed Abu Musalam penetrated deep on the left side and was brought down but referee Toru Kamikawa of Japan waved play on.
After El-Yamani scored in the second half Paraguay responded a few minutes later amid an Egyptian defensive scramble that Pedro Benitez took advantage of, but his effort was cleared away by the defence.
Gamal Hamza cut in from the right side into the penalty area only to shoot into the keeper's hands. The rest of the match featured Paraguayan attempts to level the score but all efforts were stymied by a well-organised Egyptian defence.
"I am very proud. We did a good job and walked away with many lessons learnt," coach Shawqi Gharieb said following the victory. "For the first time we have raised a generation of Egyptian players who can win away from home and play attacking football," he added, citing the tactical awareness of his players and their ability to change tactics according to the opponent's strategy.
Egypt began the tournament with a frustrating scoreless tie against little-fancied Jamaica, followed by a 7-1 drubbing against Argentina. But the little Pharaohs bounced back to beat Finland 2-1 before blanking the United States 2-0 in the second round. The quarter-finals saw the Egyptians getting the better of Holland 2-1 before suffering a 2-0 defeat against Ghana in an all-African semi-final encounter. Egypt dominated the first half against the Ghanaians and wasted several scoring opportunities. A header by Abbas Insuah gave the Ghanaians a 82nd- minute lead before an own goal by Mohamed El-Itrawi shattered the Egyptian hopes of a place in the final.
Egypt's most valuable player was El-Yamani who plays for Belgian side Standard Liege. After his dazzling form throughout the championship, El-Yamani was linked to a potential move to Italian giants Juventus whose officials were reported to be interested in the player. El-Yamani scored four goals out of Egypt's eight, including a memorable one against Holland in which he darted by two defenders before slotting the ball past the stranded goalie.
In the final, Argentina took the lead with a sixth-minute goal by defender Diego Colotto while tournament top scorer Javier Saviola headed in the second in the 14th minute. Maxmiliano Rodriguez slammed home the third in the 72nd minute.
It was coach Jose Pekerman's third youth cup title in seven years in charge. Argentina has now won the cup four times in five final appearances.
It was Ghana's second loss in the final. In 1993, it lost 2-1 against three-time winner Brazil. Saviola, with 11 goals, was the championship's highest scorer ever. The new Argentine marvel, who appears to be set for a $22 million move from River Plate to Barcelona, was also selected as the tournament's best player.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page