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FIFA U-17 Wrap: Mexico shine, Peru held [Sat Sep 17th, 2005]
Mexico and Turkey posted victories in Group B on the opening day of the FIFA U-17 World Championship. An own goal forced Peru to hand Ghana a share of the spoils in their Group A encounter, while Costa Rica and China also drew.
Group A
China 1, Costa Rica 1
An ambitious beginning from both sides resulted in two early goals in Trujillo, but neither team was able to maintain the pace for long. Roberto Carrillo beat Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei on ten minutes to hand the Ticos the early advantage.
But seven minutes later the Asian champions were celebrating their good fortune when Tang Naixin turned a Costa Rican gaffe into a thunderous goal. The excitement waned considerably for the rest of the match, save when defender Gu Cao’s ejection left China short-handed over the final ten minutes. But Costa Rica were unable to produce a winner.
Peru 1, Ghana 1
In the opening day’s final match the tournament hosts handed Ghana a share of the spoils despite the Africans failing to score a goal. Daniel Chavez converted an early first half penalty to put Peru ahead, but midfielder Miguel Cardenas was left blushing after he turned the ball past a stunned Gianfranco Castellanos with about twenty minutes to play.
The draw and resulting score leaves everyone in Group A deadlocked in all categories.
Group B
Mexico 2, Uruguay 0
Mexico and Uruguay kicked off the tournament in Lima, and the onlookers were treated to a masterful performance by the North Americans. Barcelona’s Giovanni Dos Santos dazzled the Uruguayans with his precision passing and created both Mexican goals in the second half.
The collective effort and pure footballing ability of the Tricolor was something the Charruas simply were unprepared to face. A dominant first half produced several almost-goals, but Dos Santos was quick put Carlos Vela through alone early in the second half for the opener.
Less than ten minutes later Dos Santos created the second goal with an explosive run down the right and with an accurate pass into the box where Cesar Villaluz finished with a goal.
Australia 0, Turkey 1
European champions Turkey, making their first ever appearance in the tournament, outlasted Australia with a late goal to join Mexico with three points after day one. Relentless attacking pressure from Turkey marked the first half, but goalkeeper Alex Vrteski earned his stripes for Australia.
Turkey were under the gun early in the second half but poor finishing and alert goalkeeping from Volkan Babacan thwarted Australia’s intentions. Both sides tired near the end, but German-based midfielder Nuri Sahin conjured up just enough energy and guile in the penalty area to shoot past Vrteski with a goal six minutes from time.
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