Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
Kofi Owusu Aduonum
16 October 2009
Cairo — Vengeance is indelibly printed on the minds of Ghana, when they confront four-time champions Brazil in the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009, at the Cairo International Stadium today.
Sellas Tetteh's side booked their place in the tournament decider with an enterprising 3-2 semi-final victory over a dogged Hungary team, and will now look to avenge Ghana's 2-1 defeat to Brazil in the 1993 competition in Sydney.
Abeiku Quansah's spectacular late strike killed off the Hungarian fightback after Dominic Adiyiah had netted his seventh and eighth goals of the competition, and Tetteh says his side are coming into form at the right time. "What matters isn't just that we're in the final, but that we got there thanks to a great victory," he
We're not surprised by our performance because we played really well in the qualifying competition in Rwanda and we've had continuity and consistency here.
It doesn't matter who we meet next. We're 90 minutes away from lifting the trophy."
Brazil triumphed in their semi-final game by a similar slender margin, overcoming Costa Rica 1-0 via a 67th-minute volley from centre-forward Alan Kardec. Rogerio Lourenco's charges will now seek to capture the trophy for the first time, since their 2003 triumph in the United Arab Emirates.
"Above all, I'm delighted that the players have achieved our goal of reaching the final," Lourenco said.
"They must be congratulated, as getting through six matches in a row is no easy feat. I know we didn't play well, but what matters was reaching the final, nothing else."
It is the fourth Ghana-Brazil Final at a youth FIFA World Cup. The South Americans won the 1993 FIFA U-20 World Cup Final 2-1. Two years later, it was the Africans' turn to triumph by a 3-2 margin in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The honours at U-17 level reverted to the Brazilians in 1997, when a young man by the name of Ronaldinho played his part in a 2-1 success. In the third place game, Hungary crosses swords with Costa Rica.
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