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.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite