Egypt stormed through to round 16 of the U-20 World Cup, Ahmed Morsy reports Sparkling Egypt qualified to the second stage of the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia after a one-sided 4-0 victory against Austria thanks to Mohamed Ibrahim's unprecedented hat trick on Friday. However, Egypt's comprehensive win was not enough to lift it past group winners Brazil which finished atop the group with a two-goal difference after both teams ended up locked on seven points. FIFA's official site announced on Saturday that Ibrahim became the first African player to ever score a hat trick in the history of the U-20 World Cup championship since its start in 1977. "Egypt's Ibrahim was the game's star against Austria in the third round of the U-20 World Cup," said a statement on FIFA's website. Egypt, whose best ever position was a third-place finish in the 2001 edition in Argentina, were scheduled to meet Group F winners Argentina in the round of 16 in the early hours of Wednesday and after the Ahram Weekly sports page was due to come out. It will be their fourth U-20 World Cup meeting in a decade. Six-time champions Argentina thrashed Egypt 7-1 in a group stage win in 2001 before eliminating them two years later following a hard-fought 2-1 victory in the round of 16. They also beat Egypt 2-0 in 2005. For the Egyptian players, Wednesday's encounter is expected to be exhausting after deciding they would not break their fast in Ramadan, according to coach Diaa El-Sayed. "The players refuse to break their fast. We will not force them to do anything. They are free to fast or not fast," El-Sayed, under whom Egypt finished second in Group E to qualify for the knockout phase, said on Saturday. "The players are very ambitious. They are determined to overcome Argentina and qualify for the quarter finals," El-Sayed added. "We have already begun preparations for this match. We will play with the same formation and the tactics we applied in the opening 1-1 draw with Brazil. "We will be looking to keep at bay Argentina's key players. We will do our best to win and give Egyptian fans something to cheer about." Samir Zaher, chairman of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), said on Friday that he hoped the Egyptian team will maintain their "superb run" in the World Cup in Colombia when they meet Argentina in the knockout phase. "The players lived up to the expectations of Egyptian fans. I really admire their confidence, the way they play and their team spirit," Zaher said on the EFA's official website. "I hope that Egypt will continue such great displays when they face Argentina." The young Pharaohs qualified for the second stage of the World Cup after producing dynamic and lively displays during the group stage especially against Brazil, one of the best teams in the tournament, who were outplayed by the Pharaohs for large periods of the game, according to the official FIFA site, to the extent that it described the Egyptians as "the electric team." They held four-time winners Brazil to a 1-1 draw in their opener, defeated Panama 1-0 and crushed Austria 4-0 in their last game in the group stage. Elsewhere, Group A top seeds Colombia are due to meet the Group C third-placed team Costa Rica in the round of 16 on Wednesday, while Group B Cameron which finished second, are scheduled to meet Mexico in Group F. Portugal, which came first in Group B, are due to face the Group D third- placed team Guatemala on the same day. On Thursday, top-seeds of Group D Nigeria are scheduled to clash with England who came third in Group F. Spain, which came first in Group C, are due to meet the Korea Republic, which finished third in Group A, while Group E winners Brazil are scheduled to face Saudi Arabia, who came second in Group D. In the last encounter in the round of 16, Group A runners-up France are scheduled to play Group C bridesmaid Ecuador.
