It’s do-or-die time for
Scotland, Costa Rica at
U-20 World Cup
As the fourth and last
qualifying nation from
the CONCACAF region,
Costa Rica’s fate in the
group stage of the FIFA
Under-20 World Cup might
have been predictable.
But more - and it’s not
a stretch to state much
more - was expected from
Scotland, the 2006
European silver
medallist.
But the chances of Costa
Rica or Scotland
advancing to the
round-of-16 knockout
phase of the U-20 World
Cup are hanging by the
slenderest of threads.
Costa Rica and Scotland
-who play a crossover
match Saturday at
Swangard Stadium in
Burnaby, B.C., went
winless in two games in
Group F play at
Victoria, scoring only
one goal between them.
Both teams are faced
with a double challenge:
The contest must be won,
and the net must be
filled with goals in the
process.
That’s because goal
difference is the first
tie-breaker used to
determine which
third-place teams will
earn berths in the round
of 16.
Costa Rica has a goal
difference of minus-two,
while Scotland is
minus-four. Both teams
trail Korea DPR (an
even-goal difference of
2-2, plus two points in
Group E), Congo (an
even-goal difference of
1-1, plus one point in
Group A), Zambia (a goal
difference of minus-one,
plus one point in Group
B), and Poland (a goal
difference of
minus-four, plus three
points in Group D) in
the battle for
third-place berths in
the second phase of the
tournament.
It’s difficult to
imagine this is largely
the same Scotland team
that was narrowly
defeated, 2-1, by
European under-19
champion Spain last July
29 in the UEFA
tournament title match
at Poznan, Poland. But
the Tartan Army is in
tatters following a 3-1
loss to Japan and a 2-0
setback to Nigeria in
its first two Group F
games at Victoria’s
Royal Athletic Park.
Costa Rica lost 1-0
contests to Japan and
Nigeria, which have
clinched Group F’s
automatic two berths
into the round of 16.
“We have to win our
third game at all
costs,” said Scotland
manager Archie Gemmill.
“We’ll approach the game
positively, but we don’t
want to be silly about
it. We’ll see how the
game pans out and
settles, but if we need
to attack a bit more,
then we’ll do that. It’s
our last chance.”
Following an opening-day
loss to Japan on July 1,
Gemmill’s side was
vastly improved against
Nigeria’s Super Eagles
on Wednesday, but was
beaten by a combination
of individual errors and
bad luck.
Scottish goalkeeper Andy
McNeil was culpable when
he served up Nigeria’s
second goal with a weak
parry save on a shot he
should have collected
comfortably.
Nigeria then capitalized
on a fortuitous bounce
off Scotland centre-back
Scott Cuthbert’s chest
for the insurance goal.
Gemmill didn’t point a
finger of blame on
Nigeria’s first goal.
“The ball is very light,
and it flies,” he said.
“The (Nigerian) player
wasn’t closed down
quickly enough, so we
have no problem with the
goalkeeper (McNeil).”
McNeil’s club team is
Edinburgh-based
Hibernian of the
Scottish Premier League.
But whether he retains
his place for the game
against Costa Rica
remains to be seen.
Backup keeper Scott Fox,
who plays for Glasgow
Celtic in the SPL, is
rated as a
more-than-able deputy
and is waiting in the
wings.
Gemmill said Scotland
won’t adopt a gung-ho,
guns-blazing approach
against Costa Rica.
“It’s also important
that we keep things
tight at the back,” he
said.
Nigeria was reduced to
10 players in its 2-0
win over Scotland on
Wednesday when defender
Efe Ambrose was shown a
second yellow-card
caution in the late
minutes for a cynical
trip on Scotland
substitute Ryan Conroy.
Ambrose will serve a
one-game suspension when
Nigeria plays Japan in a
Saturday night match for
first place in Group F
at Royal Athletic Park. |
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