Ghana have become the first ever African side to win the Under-20 World Cup. A 10-men Ghana did Africa proud as they held their nerve to beat Brazil in a penalty shoot-out after the game had ended goal-less after extra time in Cairo on Friday night.
While the South American side had more of the play, they lacked the spark and imagination to break down a disciplined Ghana side.
The penalty shoot-out was far and away the most exciting period of a final that had promised much but failed to deliver.
The pattern of the game was established from the outset as Brazil dominated ball possession, playing some neat football while the west African side were happy to sit back and absorb the pressure.
The opening 45 minutes were devoid of any chances, with the only moment of interest coming in the 38th minute when Daniel Addo was given his marching orders after bringing down striker Alex Teixeira from behind.
The South Americans looked more purposeful in the second stanza as Teixeira made his presence felt in the box, although it took until the 58th minute before the first real chance arrived.
It fell the way of Alan Kardec, who rose well to meet Souza’s excellent cross, but he could not steer his header past keeper Daniel Agyei, who made a superb save.
In the 70th minute Kardec missed the best chance of the game, heading Douglas Costa’s pin-point cross over the bar with only Agyei to beat.
That was pretty much it as far as clear-cut chances were concerned in regulation time – the Black Sattelites’ chances were limited to long range efforts from Abeiku Quansha and Samuel Inkoom, none of which caused Brazil keeper Rafael any problems.
Goal keeper Agyei was shaping up to be Ghana’s hero and he made what turned out to be a match winning save five minutes into extra time when he blocked Maicon’s close range effort.
The remainder of extra time saw the game played at a relatively pedestrian pace, and although the match opened up, neither side really had any clear chances to fashion a winner, despite aerial balls being fired into both boxes on a regular basis.
The penalty shootout provided plenty of drama as both team missed two penalties midway through the shoot-out.
Maicon then had the chance to win it for Brazil, but scooped his penalty over the bar. And after Dominic Adiyiah had netted for the Black Sattelites, Agyei saved from Teixeira, allowing Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu to net the decisive penalty and seal a famous win for the young men from Ghana.
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu netted the decisive penalty to seal the win for the Ghanaians
© Photo: MTNfootball.com
Teams:
Ghana:
1 Agyei; 2 Inkoom, 4 Mensah, 5 Addo, 6 Addy; 7 Quansah (Agyemang 107’), 8 A.Badu, 10 Ayew, 13 Rabiu (Addae 11’); 18 Osei (Kassenu 65’), 20 Adiyiah
Brazil:
1. Rafael; 2. Douglas (Wellington Junior 41’), 3 Dalton, 4 Toloi, 5 Renan (Maicon 76’), 6 Diogo, 7 Teixeira, 9 Kardec, 10 Giuliano, 11 Henrique (Costa 64’), 17 Souza
- a match report; courtesy: MTNFootball.com
While the South American side had more of the play, they lacked the spark and imagination to break down a disciplined Ghana side.
The penalty shoot-out was far and away the most exciting period of a final that had promised much but failed to deliver.
The pattern of the game was established from the outset as Brazil dominated ball possession, playing some neat football while the west African side were happy to sit back and absorb the pressure.
The opening 45 minutes were devoid of any chances, with the only moment of interest coming in the 38th minute when Daniel Addo was given his marching orders after bringing down striker Alex Teixeira from behind.
The South Americans looked more purposeful in the second stanza as Teixeira made his presence felt in the box, although it took until the 58th minute before the first real chance arrived.
It fell the way of Alan Kardec, who rose well to meet Souza’s excellent cross, but he could not steer his header past keeper Daniel Agyei, who made a superb save.
In the 70th minute Kardec missed the best chance of the game, heading Douglas Costa’s pin-point cross over the bar with only Agyei to beat.
That was pretty much it as far as clear-cut chances were concerned in regulation time – the Black Sattelites’ chances were limited to long range efforts from Abeiku Quansha and Samuel Inkoom, none of which caused Brazil keeper Rafael any problems.
Goal keeper Agyei was shaping up to be Ghana’s hero and he made what turned out to be a match winning save five minutes into extra time when he blocked Maicon’s close range effort.
The remainder of extra time saw the game played at a relatively pedestrian pace, and although the match opened up, neither side really had any clear chances to fashion a winner, despite aerial balls being fired into both boxes on a regular basis.
The penalty shootout provided plenty of drama as both team missed two penalties midway through the shoot-out.
Maicon then had the chance to win it for Brazil, but scooped his penalty over the bar. And after Dominic Adiyiah had netted for the Black Sattelites, Agyei saved from Teixeira, allowing Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu to net the decisive penalty and seal a famous win for the young men from Ghana.
© Photo: MTNfootball.com
Teams:
Ghana:
1 Agyei; 2 Inkoom, 4 Mensah, 5 Addo, 6 Addy; 7 Quansah (Agyemang 107’), 8 A.Badu, 10 Ayew, 13 Rabiu (Addae 11’); 18 Osei (Kassenu 65’), 20 Adiyiah
Brazil:
1. Rafael; 2. Douglas (Wellington Junior 41’), 3 Dalton, 4 Toloi, 5 Renan (Maicon 76’), 6 Diogo, 7 Teixeira, 9 Kardec, 10 Giuliano, 11 Henrique (Costa 64’), 17 Souza
- a match report; courtesy: MTNFootball.com
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