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U.S. Wins Group at World Youth Soccer
2005-06-18
ENSCHEDE, Netherlands - Freddy Adu started the play that led to the winning goal Saturday, leading the United States to a 1-0 win over Egypt and first place in Group D of the World Youth Championship.The 16-year-old Adu, who entered the game as a second-half substitute in the 55th minute, cut free in the penalty box and saw his deflected shot go straight toward teammate Jacob Peterson, who easily scored with a header. ``That's what you are put in the game for, right,'' Adu said. ``The game wasn't going too well, to be honest. There were chances we weren't finishing, and my goal was to create something, make something happen. I did just that and we won the game.'' Egypt played with only 10 men for 55 minutes because defender Ahmed Gamil was sent off with two yellow cards for touching the ball after an infraction. FIFA, soccer's world governing body, has been experimenting with the harsh action to cut down on wasting time. The United States, which hasn't conceded a goal in the tournament, won the group with seven points. Argentina, which beat Germany 1-0 in the other group match, took second place with six points, while Germany finished third with four. The Germans joined the Americans and Argentines in advancing to the next round. ``I have to be extremely happy,'' U.S. coach Sigi Schmid said. ``But I'm not satisfied and we want to get more.'' In the next round, the U.S. under-20 team will play Italy. If the Americans advance to the quarterfinals, they would play Japan or Morocco. The United States, which only needed a tie against winless Egypt to advance, left several key players out of the starting lineup, including Adu, MetroStars midfielder Eddie Gaven and Manchester United defender Jonathan Spector, who was nursing a thigh injury. ``We wanted to rest some players. We knew we were taking a risk playing so many reserves, because we only had four starters out there,'' Schmid said. After a lackluster opening half hour, the U.S. team started creating chances, including attempts from replacements Brad Evans and Will John. Colombia and Syria also advanced to the next round. The Colombians beat Syria 2-0 in Group E, but Italy's 4-1 win over Canada kept the Syrians in second place. Later Saturday, the Netherlands beat Benin 1-0 in Group A and Japan held Australia to a 1-1 tie. Both the hosts and Japan advanced. In Group F, defending champion Brazil topped South Korea 2-0 to win the group, while Nigeria beat Switzerland 3-0 and also advanced. China, Ukraine, Spain and Morocco advanced Friday, while Turkey and Chile guaranteed themselves spots in the next round after Saturday's results.
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