Hungary tops Costa Rica on penalties for third place at FIFA U-20 World Cup

October 17, 2009

Costa Rica missed four-consecutive tries from the penalty spot, as Hungary captured third place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2-0 on penalties, following a 1-1 tie after regular time at the Cairo International Stadium today.

Diego Estrada, Cristian Gamboa, Esteban Luna and Carlos Hernandez each failed to find the back of the net for the CONCACAF champion, while Krisztian Nemeth and Roland Varga were on target for the winners.

It was the first time that Hungary finished in the top three at a FIFA competition since taking the silver medal at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

For Costa Rica, it was the best finish for a CONCACAF team at the U-20 World Cup since Mexico lost to the Soviet Union on penalties in the final of the 1977 tournament in Tunisia (the game ended 2-2 after extra time).

Intense heat of nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit contributed to a rather pedestrian opening half.

The second half, though, saw Hungary take control of the game and fashion numerous scoring chances. Costa Rican goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado, however, was in exceptional form, making saves on attempts from Andras Gosztonyi, Varga and Nemeth.

As the half wore on, Hungary continued its stranglehold on the flow of play, but it was Costa Rica that would take an 81st minute lead.

Marcos Ureña made it 1-0 when he sliced his way through the Hungarian defense and took a right-footed shot that that beat Peter Gulacsi. It was Ureña’s third goal of the competition, a team high.

The young Ticos were only moments away from an historic victory, when Jose Mena committed a foul on Nemeth in the penalty area. Referee Yuichi Nishimura pointed to the spot and Vladimir Koman converted the resulting penalty to knot the score in the first-minute of stoppage time. Mena was ejected for his second yellow card of the match.

The teams went directly to penalty kicks, where the exhausted Costa Ricans could not persist with the magic that carried them this far.

CAIRO, Egypt

Source

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