Egypt suffered a stunning 4-0 defeat by Burkina Faso in the African U-17 Championship on Friday to miss out on a place in the World Cup finals in Mexico. The error-prone Pharaohs were embarrassed by Burkina Faso, who were inspired by a superb display from 15-year-old prodigy Bertrand Traore after he scored twice and caused opposing defenders all sorts of problems throughout the match. Egypt needed a win to book a last-four berth and reach the summer's World Cup but ended up with just three points from as many games in Group A. Burkina Faso joined group leaders Rwanda in the semi finals and both sides also qualified for the World Cup. Traore, who was the youngest player to appear at the U-17 World Cup in 2009, scored against the run of play to put Burkina Faso ahead six minutes before the break. He jinked into the penalty area unopposed before drilling a low left-foot shot that bounced in front of keeper Hassan Ibrahim before flying into the net. Egypt dominated possession afterwards but barely mustered a shot on goal and were denied several clear-cut opportunities by the linesman's offside flag although television replays showed that his decisions were incorrect. Burkina Faso capitalized on a dreadful defensive blunder to double their advantage on 50 minutes and leave Egypt with a mountain to climb. Egypt defender Ahmed Tharwat mis-hit his clearance to allowZaniou Sana to steal possession, break clear and notch home with aplomb. Faical Ouedraogo effectively ended Egypt's hopes after scoring the third in the 65th minute, thanks to a recurring defensive lapse. Traore completed the rout five minutes later after a brilliant individual effort as he sidestepped two defenders inside the area before beating keeper Ibrahim with a precise shot.
