Fatorda (Goa) A late goal by super sub Noah Awuku helped Germany to a 2- 1 win over Costa Rica in their opening match of the FIFA U- 17 World Cup on Saturday.
Christian Wuck teamscored through star player and skipper Jann- Fiete Arp in the 21st minute while Awuku scored in the 89th minute.
The European heavyweights could have won by a bigger margin had it not been for some erratic shots in front of the goal.
Costa Rica pulled one back in the 64th minute through Andres Gomez.
Costa Rica, who defended for the major part of the game, were on the upper side in the initial stages and came up with a couple of opportunities.
Germany nearly conceded a goal when keeper Luca Plogmann failed to clear a back pass in the fourth minute.
Andres Gomez picked up the ball and passed it to Josue Abarca, who, in turn, forwarded it to Amferny Arias, who shot over.
The Germans, who missing a couple of chances, took time to settle.
They took the lead in the 21st minute through skipper Jann- Fiete Arp, after which there was no looking back.
Nicolas Kuehn was the livewire in the middle and split the rival defence with a through pass to striker Jann- Fiete Arp, who ran into the box and chipped the ball over the advancing goalkeeper Ricardo Montengero.
The Germans continued to attack and Jan- Fiete Arp nearly scored his second goal two minutes before the break, but his attempt was blocked by rival defender Amferny Arias.
Minutes later, Dennis Jastrzembski’s header off a cross from Elias Abouchebaka hit the left post. Like in the first half, Germany continued to attack in the second half with repeated forays. The Germans did the bulk of attacking but Costa Rica found the equaliser against the run of play.
A swift move from the left saw Josue Abarca send a low cross into the box for Andres Gomez, who, from the centre of the box, beat German goalkeeper Luca Plogmann with a stiff grounder.
Germany scored the winner just before the final whistle when Awuku found the net after a defender failed to receive a cross from the right. (Courtesy Herald)
