Costa Rica’s Sele out of Korea U-20 World Cup

Costa Rica’s sub-20 squad fell 2-1 to England on Wednesday in the Round of 16 match of the FIFA World Cup Korea 2017. The loss means the elimination of La Sele from the tournament.

The elimination also means that La Sele will not be able to match their historic pass to the semifinals achieved at the 2009 World Cup in Egypt.

Costa Rica had moved to the Round of 16 as one of the four strongest third-place contenders in the group stage. La Sele recorded a 0-1 loss to Iran, a 1-1 draw with Portugal and a 1-0 victory over Zambia.

The young Ticos were never able to decipher the defensive order and powerful offensive line of the British squad lead by Everton striker Ademola Lookman, who scored the opener at 35 minutes after netting a pass from the side sent by his Everton teammate Jonjoe Kenny.

In the 63rd minute,  Lookman scored the second goal with a subtle touch that Tico goalie Erick Pineda was unable to catch, following a failed deflection attempt from defender Diego Mesén.

Despite the 2-0 score, La Sele kept on trucking, and during the last 15 minutes of the match Los Ticos showed a stronger offense that resulted in a series of shots to the English goal. This resulted in only one goal, however, through a penalty kick called just two minutes before the final whistle.

England’s goalkeeper, Freddie Woodman, deflected Randall Leal’s shot, but the Mecca forward managed to kick the ball again and scored the goal. An equalizer, however, never came.

England moved to the quarterfinals and next Monday will face Mexico that on Thursday beat Senegal 1-0.

Match Recap

England 2 – 1 Costa Rica

Stadium: Jeonju Stadium, Korea Republic

Attendance: 4,428

Referee: Julio Bascuñán (CHI)

Goals:

England: Lookman (35, 63)

Costa Rica: Leal (89)

Yellow cards:

England: Fry (5), Chapman (88)

Costa Rica: Mesén (52), Salinas (70)

Lineups:

England: Freddie Woodman; Jonjoe Kenny, Fikayo Tomori, Kyle Walker-Peters, Dael Fry; Kieran Dowell (Harry Chapman 84), Joshua Onomah (Ainsley Maitland-Niles 76), Lewis Cook (CAP); Dominic Solanke, Ademola Lookman, Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Adam Armstrong 71). Coach: Paul Simpson.

Costa Rica: Erick Pineda; Diego Mesén, Ian Smith, Esteban González (Gerson Torres 46), Esteban Espinoza, Yostin Salinas; Eduardo Juárez, Pablo Arguedas (Cristopher Núñez 65), Luis Hernández (CAP); Barlon Sequeira (Jimmy Marín 65), Randall Leal.  Coach: Marcelo Herrera.