Africa winless through second day

ENSCHEDE, Netherlands (GoPharaohs.com) – Day two of the FIFA World Youth Championship is in the books and Africa has yet to record a win.

Egypt and Morocco were the regional sides in action on Saturday, each suffering disappointing two-goal losses at the hands of European counterparts. Yesterday, Benin mustered a 1-1 draw with Australia to record Africa’s first and only point thus far.

Following a scoreless first-half with Germany that saw numerous scoring chances fall by the way-side for the Junior Pharaohs, a lack of poise sealed their fate in the second interval. Nicky Adler opened the scoring before tempers boiled over, with Abdallah Shehat and Mohammed Mahmoud of Egypt both getting ejected. Reduced to nine men, the Egyptians inevitably conceded a second goal, as Cameroonian native Marvin Matip got on the score-sheet in the dying minutes. The African runners-up have represented the region proudly in recent competitions, winning bronze in 2001, and losing out in the knockout stages in 2003 to then defending champions Argentina in extra time.

The other Group D encounter produced the tournament’s first major upset. The United States’ Chad Barrett scored a first-half goal that lifted his nation to a 1-0 victory over four-time FIFA World Youth Champions Argentina. The Americans could have won 2-0 if not for Freddy Adu’s missed penalty.

Torrential rains didn’t stop Spain from opening their campaign with a win, running out 3-1 victors over Morocco. The Atlas Lions produced a multitude of chances in front of goal, but lackluster finishing and poor field conditions didn’t help their cause. Spain led 3-0 until Rida Doulayazal bagged a late consolation goal from the penalty spot.

The thrashing of the day, and perhaps the tournament, came in the other Group C match, with Chile mercilessly annihilating Honduras 7-0.

In the day’s other two matches, Ukraine were comfortable 3-1 winners over Panama, while China needed a goal five minutes into second-half stoppage time from Xuri Zhao to see off Turkey 2-1.

In all there were 21 goals scored in what was an eventful day of action, a clip of 3.5 per match.

Four more matches commence on Sunday, rounding out the tournament’s first set of group games. Nigeria look to give Africa its first win when they meet powerhouse Brazil, and Asian champions Korea take on Switzerland, both in Group F.

In Group E, Colombia will meet Italy while Syria look to tame Canada.