Egypt and Zambia secured impressive wins in their opening matches at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar, while Cote d’Ivoire suffered a heavy defeat and face an uphill challenge to advance.
Egypt cruised to a 4-1 victory over Haiti, placing them at the top of Group E ahead of Venezuela. The goals came from four different players — Belal Attia, Abdelaziz El Zoghby, Hamza Abdelkarim, and Omar Kamal — marking a confident start for the North African team.
Venezuela also earned a convincing 3-0 win over England in the same group, setting up a decisive clash against Egypt on Friday.
Zambia overturned an early deficit to defeat Indonesia 3-1 in Group H. In a quick six-minute spell before halftime, Abel Nyirongo netted twice and Lukonde Mwale added another goal to seal the comeback. Zambia will face Honduras next on Friday, after Honduras suffered a crushing 7-0 loss to Brazil in their first fixture.
Cote d’Ivoire endured a difficult match against Switzerland, who recorded a comfortable 4-1 win in Group F. The Ivorians were already four goals behind when Hubert Yao scored a late consolation.
They will meet Mexico next, a side that also lost their opening game 2-1 to South Korea.
The top two teams from each group move directly to the Round of 32, joined by the eight best third-place finishers, giving most teams a chance to stay in contention.
“The top two teams in each group automatically advance to the Round of 32, along with the eight best third-placed teams.”
Author’s summary: Egypt and Zambia made strong starts at the U17 World Cup, while Cote d’Ivoire must regroup quickly after their defeat to Switzerland.