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Jean-Luc Rochford celebrates his goal vs Egypt.Host Egypt beat Trinidad and Tobago 4-1 in the Under-20 World Cup opener, with Hussam Arafat scoring twice on Thursday.

Striker Afroto gave Egypt the lead in the 30th minute at the Egyptian Army stadium, but Jean-Luc Rochford equalized six minutes later.

Arafat and Mohamed Talaat scored early in the second half, with goalkeeper Glenroy Samuel at fault on both goals. Arafat completed the rout in injury time with an angled shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Paraguay plays Italy in Group A's other game on Friday.

Also on Friday, Nigeria plays Venezuela and Spain faces Tahiti in Group B.

Afroto put Egypt ahead when he burst into the box and guided the ball under Samuel's body with his left foot.

Samuel made a spectacular save to keep out Talaat's shot moments later, and was soon running the length of the field to celebrate Rochford's equalizer. Rochford profited from a slip by defender Ahmed Hegazy to poke the ball past Lotfi.

Samuel made a brilliant save to keep out Talaat's header in the 51st, but from the resulting corner he charged needlessly off his line and failed to punch the ball away properly.

The ball fell to Arafat, who had time to pick his spot from just inside the penalty area and found the top corner.

Samuel was also at fault for Talaat's goal in the 58th, spilling a shot from Shehab Ahmed and offering the Zamalek striker an easy chance to stroke the ball home from 10 yards (meters).

Khaleem Hyland and Juma Clarence forced good saves from Lotfi midway through the second half, and Clarence hit the post later on when clean through.

Arafat scored the game's best goal deep into injury time when his powerful low shot flew past Samuel and into the bottom corner. A full house of 80,000 gave Egypt's players a standing ovation when they left the field.

Egypt, coached by Miroslav Soukup, next plays Paraguay on Monday.

Soukup guided the Czechs to the final two years ago, losing to Argentina.

 


 

#5 - Akeem AdamsEgypt off to U20 World Cup flier
By Matthew Kenyon (BBC Sport)


Egypt's Young Pharaohs earned a thumping 4-1 win over Trinidad and Tobago in the opening game of the Under-20 World Cup on Thursday.

Two goals from Hussam Arafat, plus strikes from Moustafa Afroto and Mohamed gave the hosts victory, with Trinidad's Jean Luc Rochford netting a consolation.

A frantic start showed that the players were perhaps too eager to make an impression on the opening night of this global event, in front of a crowd of 80,000 at the stadium of Borg el-Arab.

Both sides were guilty of squandering presentable chances in the early stages after good work in the midfield.

But on the half hour, after some sustained pressure, Egyptian striker Afroto took the ball beyond the Caribbean defence and side-footed it past the Trinidad keeper in style.

It was a tremendous goal and Egypt should have had a 2-0 lead shortly afterwards, but Mohamed Talaat's header was straight at the goalkeeper.

Instead, on the counter-attack, Rochford eased through the static home defence to level things at 1-1 and it stayed that way until half-time.

It took only five minutes after the break for Egypt to restore their lead as Trinidad failed to clear a corner and Arafat had time to control and fire home from just inside the area with a stinging shot off the inside of the post.

And the Young Pharaohs made the game safe after an hour when Talaat pounced on a rebound off Glenroy Samuel in the Trinidad goal to make it 3-1.

Trinidad continued to create chances - the best with five minutes to go when Juma Clarence's shot cannoned away off a post, but Egypt held on for the win and added gloss to the scoreline as Arafat added his second in stoppage time.

Tens of thousands of Egyptian fans had gathered many hours before kick-off in a brand new stadium outside Alexandria for the first of 52 matches in the competition, culminating in the final in Cairo on 16 October.

The venue was built as part of Egypt's ultimately unsuccessful bid to host the 2010 World Cup, but with searchlights beaming into the night sky and a fervent crowd, it provided a spectacular opener for the tournament.

The crowd left in good spirits - but the next generation of Egyptian stars will have to work on their defence before they take on Paraguay and Italy in their remaining Group A fixtures.

 


 

#11 - Khaleem HylandTough Loss
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).


…Promising show as T&T downed 4-1 in World Cup opener

A picture, they say tells a thousand words. But in football a scoreline doesn’t always tell the proper picture.

That was how skipper Leston Paul and his teammates would have been feeling at the end of the opening match of the 2009 FIFA Under 20 World Championship played before a partisan home crowd of 74,000 at the Egyptian Army Stadium, Alexandria on Thursday night.

The result was 4-1 in favour of the hosts but it could have gone either way as T&T surprised the Egyptians and a host of others including international media with their promising and gritty showing on the night. 

The Egyptians were in a boisterous mood from as much as three hours before kick off as they witnessed a splendid show for the opening ceremony which had Egypt President Hosni Mubarak, FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Vice President and Chairman of the tournament’s organizing committee Jack Warner.

The home fans waved their national flags for long periods in the stands and they later sang and embraced each other for two miles plus as they made their way out and away from the  match venue following  the match

Midfielder Jean Luc Rochford brought T&T right back into the match with a well taken goal in the 36th minute to level the scores at 1-1. Striker Afroto had given Egypt the lead six minutes earlier when he placed his shot past Glenroy Samuel . T&T started brightly with Jamal Gay rushing a shot off high and wide inside thirty seconds and then defender Uriah Bentick powered a free kick which looked heading to goal before goalkeeper Aly Lotfi pushed over bar.

Hussam Arafat put Egypt 2-1 ahead in the 51st while Mohamed Talaat (59th) and Arafat again in the 93rd completed the scoring.

“It’s a difficult result to accept both for me and the players and I think anyone who saw the game would maybe feel the same way,” Zoran Vranes told TTFF Media after the match.

“I am not disappointed. Maybe we gave away two soft goals but we created many good chances which could have turned the game at those points. But that is football and we will learn a lot from this experience.  I think we could maybe go on to play even better now because the boys have showed that they can compete at this level. But unfortunately the score did not look good at the end,” he added.

Several media correspondents in the post match and mix zone area said they felt T&T were unlucky to come away empty handed and maybe were outdone by the support for the home team.

Paul added that his team came into their own game too late and that he and his teammates were disappointed that they did not give the T&T fans back home the Republic Day gift that they had hoped for.

“It was a good fight but we started to play too late. We conceded goals that led to our loss. We missed our chances and they took theirs. It was our first time playing in front of such a big crowd  and I would say some of the guys were naturally nervous in the early stages. We have to take the positives from it and come again. I think we came out of this a strong team and we will try to play even harder in the remaining matches,” Paul said.

T&T started with Samuel in goal, Akeem Adams, Robert Primus, Daneil Cyrus and Uriah Bentick at the back, Sean De Silva, Jake Thomson, Rochford and Paul in the middle with Khaleem Hyland playing  in front of striker Jamal Gay.

Primus was solid while Thomson was one of the bright spots in the T&T line up. His confidence and composure on the ball and his deceptive play caused the hosts problems at different points in the game.

For long periods, T&T went against the odds as they kept good possession and had the opposing team and home fans out of the match.

Rochford took his goal well after Gay and Thomson combined with the latter running across the box, evading a couple challenges before slipping the ball to Rochford.

When Vranes introduced forward Juma Clarence and Kevin Molino in the second half, T&T were now creating more chances and looked threatening going forward. Clarence was unfortunate with two of his efforts coming off the woodwork.

Samuel had earlier made a brilliant stop to deny Talaat before the equalizer and then made a superb save to push away the striker’s header but was caught off his line on the resulting play as Arafat’s shot entered the net. Talaat struck the third goal when Samuel failed to hold a shot from Shehab Ahmed and Talaat nailed the rebound.

Clarence forced Lotfi into a couple good saves while Khaleem Hyland forced him to block well after a neat combination with Clarence.  On 71 minutes Clarence tried to lob Lotfi but again the Egyptian ‘keeper was up to the task.

Arafat made it 4-1 with an angled shot past Samuel deep into stoppage time.

There were obvious signs of dejection in the T&T dressing room after the match but all in all, a promising and gutsy display should leave the Young “Warriors” optimistic going into their remaining games against Italy and Paraguay next Monday and Thursday respectively in Cairo.

 


 

Jake Thompson makes impressive debut for T&T.Egypt U-20 4-1 Trinidad & Tobago U-20: Hosts Triumph
goal.com


Egypt's Under 20 side suffered a first-hand scare at the hands of visiting Trinidad & Tobago's youths, but ultimately prevailed in dominant fashion due to classy finishing and solid play in the second period.

For the visiting Soca Warriors it was a lesson in efficiency and concentration, although they can be proud of some fine individual performances.

Nonetheless, it was the 80,000-strong home crowd that left happy after this tournament curtain-raiser at the brand new Burj Al-Arab in Alexandria thanks to goals from Afroto, Hussam Arafat twice, and Mohamed Talaat.

Still, that crowd itself was marred in controversy. It has been said that up to 40,000 ticket-holding fans were locked out as prime seats were given to tens of thousands of members of the Egyptian military and police, leading to angry scenes outside the stadium.

For those inside, however, there was much to cheer about as the host nation put four goals past Trinidad & Tobago.

It took just under half an hour for Egypt to take the lead, but it was worth waiting for as Afroto powered his way past two defenders before sending the ball through Glenroy Samuel's legs and into the net.

Trinidad & Tobago were on level terms just six minutes later. Jake Thomson broke down the right hand flank, dancing past a number of Egyptian challenges before setting up Jean Luc Rochford to equalise.

The second half was all about the hosts, however. After 51 minutes, Hussam Arafat gave Egypt the lead again with a low drive after a weak punch by Samuel.

Egypt pressed forward, and when Shehab Ahmed's shot was saved by Samuel, Mohamed Talaat was on hand to make it 3-1 with a simple tap in after 59 minutes.

The game was sewn up in stoppage time with an excellent curling shot from the edge of the box by Arafat, leaving the 'keeper with no chance.

It was an impressive opening performance from the hosts, and their confidence will now be even higher when they take on Paraguay in the second group game on Monday.


 

Four goals for Pharaohs
fifa.com


Egypt made a winning start to their FIFA U-20 World Cup campaign, defeating Trinidad and Tobago 4-1 in Alexandria. Watched by a crowd of over 84,000, which included FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the hosts' goals were almost as memorable as the opening ceremony, which preceded the match.

In a frenetic first half, it was Trinidad and Tobago who had the better of the opening exchanges. Jean-Luc Rochford's free-kick from the edge of the area was palmed past the post by Aly Lofty as the hosts started nervously. However, as the half wore on, Egypt's confidence grew and their first shot on goal, through Shebab Ahmed acted as a starting point for a prolonged period of pressure.

Mohamed Talaat and Ahmed both had half chances and Hussam Arafat should have done better when he stabbed a close-range effort narrowly wide. With their next attack, Ahmed Magdy spun past Daneil Cyrus and fired a shot which whistled just past the upright. The hosts' dominance was finally rewarded with a goal when in the 27th minute Afroto powered his way past Sean De Silva and Uriah Bentick to fire the ball between the legs of Glenroy Samuel and into the net.

Egypt could have doubled their advantage five minutes later, but Samuel made a fantastic flying save to deny Talaat at close range. T&T then broke quickly through Jake Thomson down the right hand side. The Southampton man cut inside, beating several Egyptian defenders in the process, and slipped a ball into the path of Rochford, who finished well.

Buoyed by a passionate crowd, the hosts came out of the blocks quickly after the interval and Samuel made a fantastic save to palm Arafat's downward header out for a corner. From the resulting set-piece , the keeper's weak punch fell to Arafat on the edge of the box, who made no mistake with a low drive. Then, shortly before the hour mark, Talaat got the goal his efforts deserved when he fired home after Samuel could only parry Ahmed's powerful drive into his path.

Despite the deficit, Zoran Vranes's side never gave up and only the quick reflexes of Lofty and the woodwork prevented them from pulling one back. Substitute Juma Clarence sprinted past Ahmed Hegazy before connecting with a high ball, which the keeper deflected wide for a corner. Then, in the closing minutes, the big striker crashed a shot against the post.

The islanders misery was completed in added time when Arafat struck a curling shot from the edge of the box that flew past the keeper, which had both Presidents, Blatter and Mubarak, nodding in approval - and 84,000 Egyptian fans in delirium.

SCORING SUMMARY:

Egypt:
AFROTO (30')
Hussam ARAFAT (51', 90'+3)
Mohamed TALAAT (59')

Trinidad & Tobago:
Jean Luc ROCHFORD (36')

VIDEO: Video Highlights

TEAMS

Egypt:
1. Aly LOTFI, 2. Salah SOLIMAN, 6. Ahmed HEGAZY, 7. Aly MOHAMED, 8. Shehab AHMED, 9. Mohamed TALAAT (BOGY 88'), 11. AFROTO (Mostafa GALAL 76'), 12. Islam RAMADAN, 17. Mahmoud TOBA (capt.), 18. Ahmed MAGDY (Saadeldin SAAD 89'), 20. Hussam ARAFAT

Substitutes:
16. Mohamed BASSAM, 21. Mohamed ABOUGABAL, 3. Hesham MOHAMED, 4. Mostafa GALAL In (+76'), 5. Moaz EL HENAWY, 10. Ahmed SHOUKRI, 13. Ayman ASHRAF, 14. Hosam HASSAN, 15. Saadeldin SAAD, 19. BOGY

Coach: Miroslav SOUKUP (CZE)

Trinidad & Tobago:
1. Glenroy SAMUEL, 5. Akeem ADAMS, 6. Leston PAUL (capt.), 8. Sean DE SILVA (Kevin MOLINO 65'), 9. Jamal GAY (Marcus JOSEPH 87'), 11. Khaleem HYLAND, 12. Robert PRIMUS, 14. Jean Luc ROCHFORD (Juma CLARENCE 60'), 15. Uriah BENTICK, 18. Jake THOMSON, 19. Daniel CYRUS

Substitutes:
20. Andre MARCHAN, 21. Jesse FULLERTON,  2. Aubrey DAVID,  3. Curtis GONZALES,  4. Sheldon BATEAU,  7. Kevin MOLINO, 10. Qian GROSVENOR, 13. Juma CLARENCE, 16. Marcus JOSEPH, 17. Mekeil WILLIAMS

Coach: Zoran VRANES

 

OFFICIALS

Referee: Peter O LEARY (NZL)
Assistant Referee 1: Brent BEST (NZL)
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew TARO (SOL)
Fourth official: Alberto UNDIANO (ESP)
Match Commissioner: Hamad BROOK (UAE)


YELLOW CARDS

Egypt:
7. Aly MOHAMED (21')
20. Hussam ARAFAT (26')
11. AFROTO (30')

Trinidad & Tobago:
18. Jake THOMSON (78')

STATISTICS

Egypt (EGY)
Statistics
Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)
24
Shots
7
9
Shots on goal
5
4
Goals Scored
1
10
Fouls Committed
19
18
Fouls Suffered
9
10
Corner kicks
3
0
Free kicks Shots (scored)
1
0 / 0
Penalty Kicks (Goals/Shots)
0 / 0
0
Offsides
0
0
Own goals
0
3
Yellow cards
1
0
Second yellow card and red card
0
0
Red Cards
0
32
Actual playing time
26
55%
Possession (%)
45%