Saturday, June 13, 2009

Argentina in medal round

DEFENDING champions Argentina advanced into the medal round from Group A of the Junior World Cup when they beat Egypt 3-1 at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru yesterday.

But it was not an easy win, as they went into the break tied 1-1 and Egypt were pressing hard.

A penalty stroke in the second half gave Argentina a life-line, and they went on to win the match.

The Argentine scorers yesterday were Santiago Miguel (21st, 39th) and Leandro Tolini (49th). Houssam Ghabran scored for Egypt in the 27th minute.

Also in Group A, Pakistan qualified for the medal round even though they lost 2-1 to Belgium. Pakistan had a better goals average, and finished second to Argentina in the g roup.

In Group C, even though South Korea had already qualified for the medal round, they still played their hearts out and held England to a 2-2 draw to remain unbeaten.

Marc Edwards (sixth) and David Beckett (56th) scored for England while Kang Moon Kweon (52nd) and Lee Dong Hyun (63rd) scored for South Korea.

And in Group D, New Zealand and Netherlands played to a 2-2 draw to advance to the medal round, shutting the door on India who were reduced to playing in the classifications.