Myanmar party over as Ukraine hit them for six

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Myanmar's under-20 World Cup 'party' came to a crashing halt on Tuesday when they were hammered 6-0 by Ukraine, with all six goals coming in the second half, prompting the Asian side's German coach to apologise to their fans.





Myanmar, who qualified for the tournament for the first time by reaching the Asian under-19 championships semi-finals on home soil last year, had given the United States a massive fright in their opening game on Saturday before eventually losing 2-1.

They managed to hold Ukraine scoreless in the first half in Whangarei before the Europeans scored six in the second, with Shakhtar Donetsk's Viktor Kovalenko grabbing a brace.

The scoreline could have been even worse had Pavlo Polehenko not missed a penalty after defender Thiha Htet Aung was sent off for a hand ball on the line.

"We must be realists, the party is over," Myanmar coach Gerd Zeise told a media conference. "I must apologise to the Myanmar fans, I am responsible for this disaster, but I can't turn a cyclist into a racing driver."

Like many developing nations in Asia, world governing body FIFA has pumped money into the country and given more than $1.1 million through its Goal programme over the past five years to fund facilities and training programmes for age-group players.

Myanmar's qualification for the tournament in New Zealand was seen as proof the money was working.

Zeise, however, suggested the tournament, despite causing an outpouring of celebrations back home, had come too early for his side.

"Obviously we only had the power for one match. The European teams play in another league and we cannot follow," he said.

"We are too blind and we do not have the experience, that's absolutely clear.

"It was a disaster and this tournament has come too early for us. We cannot follow these teams, no chance.

"My team was too poor."

Myanmar's final game is on Friday in Wellington against hosts New Zealand, who were beaten 4-0 by the United States in Auckland, and must beat Zeise's side to give themselves a hope of qualifying for the knockout phase.

Austria took a huge step towards the round of 16 with a 2-1 victory over Panama, who finished with nine men, in a spiteful encounter in Wellington, where the Europeans also had two penalties saved by Jaime De Gracia.

Ghana also shook off the rust that had characterised their fortuitous 1-1 draw against Austria on Saturday, which was sealed with a stoppage-time penalty, with an impressive 3-2 victory over Humberto Grondona's Argentina.

Grondona's side, one of the pre-tournament favourites, scored two late goals to set up a tense final few minutes but have just one point from two games and face the Austrians on Friday.





(Editing by Peter Rutherford/John O'Brien)


Share

3 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world