Egypt and Zambia both recorded strong victories at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday, while Cote d’Ivoire faced a tough defeat and will need to regroup for a chance to advance.
Egypt cruised to a 4-1 victory over Haiti in Group E, positioning themselves at the top of the standings. The North African team demonstrated a potent attack with four different scorers:
Meanwhile, Venezuela secured a 3-0 win against England, setting up a crucial match between Egypt and Venezuela on Friday.
Zambia overturned an early deficit to defeat Indonesia 3-1. Their scoring burst included three goals within six minutes of the first half:
Zambia will face Honduras on Friday, who are coming off a 7-0 loss to Brazil.
Cote d’Ivoire suffered a 4-1 defeat to Switzerland, who controlled the match from start to finish. The Ivorians’ only goal was a late consolation by Hubert Yao after trailing 4-0.
They will meet Mexico on Friday, a team that lost their opener 2-1 to South Korea.
The tournament format allows the top two teams from each group to progress automatically to the Round of 32, along with the eight best third-placed teams, leaving multiple paths open for qualification.
"Egypt next face Venezuela on Friday in what could be a key clash in the group."
"Zambia are next in action on Friday when they take on Honduras, who were thumped 7-0 by Brazil in their opening game."
"They next take on Mexico on Friday, with the latter having also lost their opening match 2-1 to South Korea."
Author’s summary: Egypt and Zambia scored impressive wins at the FIFA U17 World Cup, while Cote d’Ivoire faces a challenging route to the knockout rounds after their defeat.