All the First Day Matches

Group A

China- Costa Rica 1-1

Perú-Ghana 1-1

Group B

Uruguay- México 0-2

Turkey-Australia 1-0

Host Peru couldn't beat Ghana

Hosts Peru drew 1:1 with two-time FIFA U-17 world champions Ghana in the second Group A fixture at the FIFA U-17 World Championship Peru 2005. The Peruvians dominated throughout and created a string of presentable openings, but a combination of poor luck and Nana Bonsu's superb goalkeeping prevented Peru from starting with a win.


To add insult to injury, the Africans sealed a point courtesy of an own goal. Following the earlier 1:1 draw between China and Costa Rica, all four Group A teams lie dead level in the standings with the same number of points and goals.

A crowd numbering some 25,000 saw a furious opening featuring a seventh-minute red card for Ghana's Mubarak Wakaso after a touchline foul on Carlos Flores. Just minutes later, Ghana keeper Nana Bonsu upended Peru striker Jesus Rey in the box. Daniel Chavez stepped up to convert from the spot as the crowd erupted to hail the hosts' opener (1:0, 12'). The African championship runners-up were in disarray at this point, with huge questions asked of their ability to recover.

"I reckon it was a very harsh red card. I'm not even sure it was worthy of a booking, because my player went for the ball. I can't honestly be satisfied with the result because we came here looking to win. Every team has exactly the same prospects for the next round of games, it's as if the tournament was starting again from scratch," Ghana coach David Duncan commented afterwards.

Peru continued to hold the initiative, but Ghana clawed their way back into it and created their first chance as captain Emmanuel Ansong burst forward only for his 17th minute effort to clear the bar. Coach Duncan reshuffled his side to compensate for the sending off, withdrawing striker George Appiah and introducing defender Jonathan Quartey to stiffen the defence.

The Ghanaians settled now and began sporadically troubling the Peruvian rearguard, but the hosts coached by José Pavoni still enjoyed the lion's share of the chances. Jesus Rey delivered a perfect angled pass for Chavez but Bonsu raced from goal to clear midway through the half. The two-time U-17 world champions raced up the other end but James Tagoe was narrowly off-target.

Daniel Chavez opens the scoring from the penalty spot as Peru take on Ghana in Group A at the FIFA U-17 World Championship in Trujillo on September 16. The first half closed with a flurry of action as Sadat Burkari fired over the bar before David Telfer and Tagoe conjured up a golden opportunity for Samad Oppong, just inches short of connecting at the far post.

Peru's first chance after the restart felt to Miguel Cardenas but Bonsu maintained his fine form and pushed the goal-bound effort round the post. Gianfranco Espejo's prod rebounded from the upright after an almighty goalmouth scramble as the hard-working Ghanaians enjoyed a healthy slice of good fortune. Up the other end, Bukari muscled his way to the right edge of the area on the hour but Peru keeper Gian Franco Castellanos blocked.

Lady luck again smiled on the Africans as they were gifted an equaliser after an hour, Miguel Cardenas putting through his own goal from an attempted clearance (1:1, 62'). Ghana boss Duncan cut an animated figure on the touchline as he and his side sensed an unlikely victory.

However, the hosts regained the initiative in the closing quarter of an hour. Bonsu tipped Carlos Flores' 70th minute drive over the bar and the Africans held on for the draw, thus maintaining an impressive record of seven FIFA U-17 World Championship opening matches without defeat.

The next matchday features Peru against China, with Ghana facing Costa Rica.

Peru boss José Pavoni was not unhappy with the result. "I was very pleased with the way we played in the second half. We can live with a draw against the strongest team in the group, although we were close to taking all three points."

Artistic Opening Ceremony for U-17 World Championship Peru 2005

Mansiche Stadium in Trujillo waas the scenario of the colorful welcome ceremony for the FIFA U-17 World Championship Peru 2005. The stage queen was current Miss World Maria Julia Mantilla, and the music was of Pedro Suarez Vertiz and his Official Anthem for this competition.

25 thousand people crowded the stadium of the northern city of Trujillo and watched the artistic ceremony played by 400 volunteers. A throng of dancers, stilt-walkers and acrobats, some clad in red and others in a wide array of outsized costumes, delighted the festival crowd with a performance showing off Peru's rich cultural tradition, transforming the arena into a riot of colour and movement to the strains of the Peruvian marine band.

Watched by FIFA General Secretary Dr. Urs Linsi, the spectators applauded rapturously and clapped in time to the music as 16 artistes ceremonially bore the flags of the 16 participating nations into the stadium.

The 15-minute pageant concluded with the artistes gathering on the running track to salute the crowd in the main stand, before marching from the stadium to usher in a spectacular pyrotechnic display, the fireworks lighting up the Trujillo sky in a glorious finale to an uplifting and colourful opening.

SmartBall kicks off in Peru

It's not an ordinary football. It is Adidas new release "smartball" and it'll make its official debut in the FIFA Under-17 world championship in Peru. This soccer ball is fitted with a tiny microchip designed to help a referee decide whether the ball has crossed the line completely for a goal to be scored - and will also be used to determine whether the ball has gone out of play.

FIFA president Josepp Blatter, traditionally a staunch opponent of technology, has given his blessing to the experiment in Peru and has said that if it is successful, it can be used in the World Cup finals in Germany next summer.

The ball was unveiled in Lima before the tournament starts on Friday and FIFA Secretary-General Urs Linsi told Reuters the "smartball" and so-called goal-line technology, developed by Adidas with German company Cairos AG and the German Fraunhofer Institute - was in no way a substitute for the eyes and experience of the referee.

RADIO SIGNAL

"The referee is in charge, he's the boss on the pitch and that won't change. This is an aid to the referee," he said.

The microchip -- less than half an inch in size -- sends out a radio signal when the ball crosses the touchline, as if it had touched an electric fence.

That signal is relayed by up to 12 antennae positioned in the corners of the pitch to a computer which then sends a message to a watch worn on the referee's wrist in less than one second, Guenter Pfau, Adidas' manager for relations with FIFA, told Reuters.

The message makes a virtually inaudible signal and the referee need never even use the technology, unless he is in doubt, Pfau said.

If so, a quick glance at the watch will reveal the word "goal" or no message, indicating no goal. Any goal messages are stored in the watch's memory with the time logged.

FINAL SAY

Linsi said the referee would always have the final say and could ignore even a goal message from the smartball.

The 16-nation Under-17 championship kicks off on Friday with Uruguay playing Mexico in Lima and ends on Oct 2.

Matches will be played in five venues equipped with the latest artificial turf. The smartball will be used in all games except those played in the northern jungle city of Iquitos because the stadium was not ready in time, Pfau said.

The smartball's signal cannot be disturbed by radios or cellphones. "It's encrypted, it can't be hacked into," he added.

The smartball has been tested once, in February, at an unofficial friendly in Nuremberg, but Friday will be its first official outing.

BOARD GAMES

Members of the International Football Association Board -- soccer's ultimate law-making body -- will travel to Peru to see the experiment in some of this month's games.

A report will then be submitted to the next meeting of the Board in the spring and if the experiment has been deemed a success a decision will be taken on whether it will be used in the World Cup finals in Germany next summer.

Blatter told journalists in London earlier this month that there might be no need for the technology to determine a goal at all in Peru.

"There might not be one incident where there is a doubt," he said, "it could happen, but if it does, we can arrange a match outside the tournament using the technology and set up a situation to test it."

Along with hosts Peru, the 15 other competing countries are China, Qatar, North Korea, Ghana, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Italy, Turkey, Netherlands, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Australia and Costa Rica.