Egypt suffered a shock exit from the U-20 World Cup, losing 2-0 to a clever Costa Rica side in the competition's round of 16. Goals from defender Jose Mena and midfielder Marcos Urena sunk the hosts at Cairo Stadium, sending Costa Rica to the quarter-finals for the first time ever. Egypt's line-up featured some surprises including the absence of livewire playmaker Afroto, while Italy-match hero Ahmed Fathi 'Bougi' once again started on the bench. Ismaili defender Ahmed Hegazi returned to the starting eleven after missing the previous two games with a virus; so did center-half Salah Soliman. Shock Goal With both teams starting cautiously, the first shot on target came after 19 minutes when Mohamed Talaat's powerful header was competently parried by Esteban Alvarado. Two minutes later, the visitors silenced around 60,000 supporters, hitting the net with their first sight of goal. David Guzman sent in an inviting freekick, Urena flicked the ball back for Mena, who dispatched an unstoppable header into the roof of the net. Egypt then had to attack relentlessly against their ultra-defensive opponents, but it was obvious that Soukup's men lacked firepower upfront.
Sad end for Soukup and Co. The hosts replied to Mena's goal with two timid attempts on goal, courtesy of a shot from Ahmed Shoukri and a saved header from Hegazi. Urena Killer Costa Rica looked menacing on the counter and came close to doubling their shock lead shortly after the break when Diego Madrigal went through on goal, but saw his low effort inches wide. Six minutes into the second half, Soukup made a double substitution bringing in Afroto and Bougi for Shoukri and Hossam Arafat. However, the introduced duo hardly made an impact until the final minutes of the game when Afroto hit an outstanding freekick that was superbly denied by Alvarado. Costa Rica's counter attack strategy seemed to be working as time was against Egypt, but Ronald Gonzalez's side struck the killer goal late on. Two minutes from the end, Urena put the game to bed after he fired home a fine team move with an explosive finish into the top-right corner of Ali Lotfy's net. Egypt players were in complete despair and the Costa Ricans could have added to the socreline if they had time. The CONCACAF representatives will face the winner from Wednesday's tie between Venezuela and UAE.
