Tied at the start
Egyptian U-20 footballers tied at the start of the World Championships in the UAE, writes Mohamed El-Sayed
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Colombia derailed Egypt's hope of collecting the full three points at the start of the Under-20 football World Cup in the UAE. The two settled for a draw and one point apiece
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Egypt and Colombia played to an evenly matched 0-0 draw in the first Group D game in the FIFA Under-20 football World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Despite playing in front of 12,000 supporters -- mostly Egyptian expatriates -- the Pharaohs, making their fourth appearance in world youth championships, did not live up to the expectations of their fervent supporters who remained silent almost throughout the 90 minutes.
In fact, if it was not for alert goalkeeper and captain Sherif Ikrami, the Egyptians would have been dealt a sure defeat in their first game.
Before the encounter, the Colombian head coach Reinaldo Rueda said that "a draw with the Egyptians would be a good result." Those words proved highly modest as the Colombian squad dominated throughout the game, frittering away several golden chances to take the lead. Their striker Edixon Perea sliced open the Egyptian defence at least four times, but his scoring attempts were thwarted by either Ikrami or defender Morsi Abdel-Latif. The latter cleared the ball off the line twice during the match.
On the other side, the bronze medalists in Argentina 2001 were out of form and confused throughout the first half. Egypt's head coach Hassan Shehata resorted to the 5-4-1 format in the first 25 minutes before switching to 5-3-2, bringing in attacker Islam Shokri for midfielder Ahmed Samir. However, the substitute, all alone in the six-yard area, did not do justice to the delicious pass produced by energetic Ahmed Fatahi, sending the ball into the goalkeeper's body.
The Colombians continued to waste chance after chance till the break.
The second half got off to a fast-paced start, with the Colombians doing much of the attacking. In the 55th minute, striker Erwin Carrillo missed a golden chance, blasting to the right of the goal from close range.
In the 59th minute, Shokri, who had an off-day, could not make up for the easy opportunity that came his way in the first half. In a world of his own, he was released with a lovely pass from his partner Imad Mit'eb in the area, but amazingly his shot went wide.
In the last 15 minutes, Shehata pulled right winger Ahmed Said and introduced attacker Reda Metwalli. The change did not bear fruit after the Colombian side built up pressure in the remaining minutes.
Ikrami, the man of the game, pulled off a fine diving save in the 86th minute, pushing away a low drive from midfielder Jaime Castrillon.
"We met a powerful team which has plenty of experience and professional players," said Shehata. "The tournament is a big one for our players but we will defend the third place position we took in Argentina 2001 as well as our reputation as African champions," he asserted. Shehata went on to say that the Egyptians were affected by the absence of the Marseilles-based striker Ahmed "Mido" Hossam. "We still have a chance to qualify but we have to win our next two encounters against England and Japan."
In the other match in the same group, Japan managed a surprising 1-0 win over England in Al-Maktoum Stadium in Dubai. A second half goal from Daisuke Sakata gave the Asians the impressive victory.
As for the other Arab teams in the tournament, hosts Emirates got off to a miserable start in Group A, losing 4-1 to the Slovaks. A goal after five minutes from Milos Brezinsky set the tone for the evening, and sealed the Emirates' fate in front of 49,000 supporters at the Zayed City Sports Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The Europeans took full control of the encounter. Save for the occasional Emirate counter-attack, the first half belonged almost entirely to the Slovaks. In the 23 minute Juraj Halenar doubled the score with a cool, slotted finish.
Marek Cech sent a left-footed wonder- strike from some 30 yards that settled in the back of the net three minutes after the restart. The Emirates still had a glimmer of hope when Ali Al-Weheibi received a brilliant chip from captain Ismail Matar, scoring their first goal in the 72nd minute.
In the 81st minute, Filip Holosko put the final nail in the Emirates' coffin as he volleyed home from six yards.
"The Slovaks were far stronger than us and they beat us to every ball," said Emirates' French coach Jean-François Jodar. "We suffered a very disappointing evening tonight. We will heal our wounds and get ready for the next challenge. I believe the toughest of our matches is behind us now."
Crowning the poor results of the Arab teams, Saudi Arabia lost 2-1 to Ireland in Group E. The 19-year-old striker Stephen Elliott netted his first goal in the 18th minute. In the second half, the Saudis pulled themselves back into the game when Eisa Al-Mahyani scored the equaliser. Elliott restored Ireland's advantage with 13 minutes to go.
The three African teams participating in the event got off to a far better start.
In Group A, Burkina Faso managed a 1- 0 win over Panama in a foul-littered clash in Abu Dhabi's Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium on Friday. Second half substitute Aristide Bance's searing free kick just nine minutes from time fired the Africans ahead on a bruising night that produced far more fouls than chances. Italian referee Roberto Rossetti reached into his pocket four times in the half, producing three yellow cards for Burkina Faso and one for the upstart Central Americans.
The Africans finally got their reward. Bance's rocket of a free kick from 25 yards found a gap in the Panamanian defensive wall and screamed past Carlos Valdes and into the back of the net, sparking off wild celebrations at the corner flag.
"Of course I am very pleased with the victory," said Burkina Faso coach Mart Nooij. "What I am not pleased about is the fact that we did not play good football. Perhaps it was nerves or the occasion, but it seemed that we forgot to play our football."
The other African squad in the event, Mali, defeated Uzbekistan 3-2 in Group B. Italian-based Drissa Diarra, who plays for Lecce, gave the Africans the lead after just four minutes but Uzbekistan equalised through Islom Innomov for a 1-1 score line at half-time.
Mamadi Berthe restored Mali's lead seven minutes into the second half only for Alexander Geynrikh to equalise for Uzbeks 10 minutes later. Bakary Coulibaly, however, struck to give the Malians the winner in injury time.
The Ivory Coast continued Africa's impressive start in the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Group E rivals Mexico. Adolph Tohoua and Arouna Kone scored the goals for the African side.
Tohoua's goal came in the 19th minute as he shot home after a pass from Jean- Jacques Gosso. Kone then extended the Africans' lead 13 minutes after the break, from the penalty spot, after Antonin Koutouan was obstructed by Mexico's Ricardo Jimenez.
The Mexicans managed to pull a goal back with five minutes left on the clock when a cross from Ignacio Torres was headed home by Aldo de Nigris.
In other matches of the first round, the opening Group B match in Sharjah was a Hispanic affair, bringing defending champions Argentina face-to-face with Spain under the watchful eyes of Mexican referee Benito Archundia. Sergio Garcia opened the score for the Spaniards in the 30th minute. The South Americans hauled themselves back into the game via Leanardo Fernandez who thumped home two identical headers in the 51 and 75 minutes.
In Group C, three-time title holders Brazil managed a 2-0 win over Canada in Dubai. Daniel Carvalho opened the scoring in the 56th minute before Nilmar made up for a penalty miss six minutes before the end. The other match in the same group brought Australia and the Czech Republic to a 1-1 draw. David Limbersky volleyed home for the Europeans in the 24th minute and Scott McDonald equalised for the Australian side three minutes after the interval.
In Group F, the first match from the Al- Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi saw the US upstage Paraguay 3-1. The Americans rallied back from a 1-0 deficit to get their campaign off to a flyer. Second-half goals from MLS stars Eddie Johnson, Mike Magee and Bobby Convey overturned Julio Dos Santos's fifth-minute free kick to get Group F off to an exciting start.
In the same group, South Korea surprised with a convincing 2-0 victory over Germany. Lee Ho Jin fired the Asians ahead in the 51st minute with a wonderfully clinical finish. On a lightning counter-attack, Lee Jong Min extended the Korean's lead in the 70th minute.
