Ghana beat Hungary 3-2 to set up an Under-20 World Cup final against Brazil, who won 1-0 against Costa Rica in Tuesday’s other semi-final.
Tournament topscorer Dominic Adiyiah scored twice for Ghana’s Black Satellites, while Alan Kardec’s second-half goal breached Costa Rica’s rigid defense in a scrappy match in which Brazil did not show their customary flair.
Ghana will attempt to become the first African team to win the competition, while Brazil are aiming to win it for the fifth time tomorrow. Ghana lost previous finals to Brazil in 1993 and to Argentina in 2001.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Ghana’s slick attack compensated for a shaky defense once more, with Adiyiah taking his tournament tally to eight goals.
Hungary rallied from 2-0 down and threatened in the second half but missed playmaker Vladimir Koman, who was suspended.
Ghana captain Andre Ayew limped off in the second half and had an ice pack tied to his right ankle after the match.
PHOTO: EPA
Costa Rica defended resolutely in the first half and almost scored on a rare attack only for Brazil goalkeeper Rafael to make a spectacular leaping save to keep out David Guzman’s powerful shot.
Brazil increased the pressure after the break, and Kardec punished some slack marking when he was left unmarked at the back post and thumped in a shot from a tight angle past goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado in the 67th minute.
Costa Rica coach Ronald Gonzalez was proud of his side’s effort.
“When you play against Brazil, you can’t just play [freely] and take every chance. You have to be mindful of who you are playing,” Gonzalez said. “This was a good performance after two tough games.”
Adiyiah’s brace put Ghana 2-0 up by half-time, before Marko Futacs brought Hungary back into the match in the 73rd minute.
Abeiku Quansah restored Ghana’s two-goal lead in the 81st, but Adam Balajti scored in the 84th.
“The first half we were really, really poor and I don’t know what the reason was,” Hungary goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi said. “When you concede three goals, of course you’re disappointed, but I think we had our chances to equalize.”
Gulacsi said Koman’s absence was keenly felt.
“We missed him as a player and as a leader on the pitch,” Gulacsi said.
Ghana’s first goal came in the 10th minute, when Ayew intercepted a poor back pass and skipped round Gulacsi to provide Adiyiah with a tap-in. Adiyiah added another in the 31st when he headed in Samuel Inkoom’s cross from the right.
Ayew says he twisted his ankle making the goal, and is unsure whether he will recover in time to face Brazil.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS