AUSTRALIA'S Young Socceroos now have a mountain to climb if they hope to qualify from their Under 20s World Cup group after losing 3-2 against Costa Rica this morning.
The Young Roos were breathtaking in attack and breathtaking in defence in the rollercoaster game - but for entirely different reasons.
Every opportunity at one end was undone by poor defensive work at the other which saw three goals in almost as many minutes in the first half.
Brisbane Roar striker Kofi Danning flashed a shot just over the bar in the opening stages while Kerem Bulut also came close to putting Australia in front, only to be denied by Costa Rican goalkeeper Mauricio Vargas who came charging off his line.
But Costa Rica worked their way into the match and took the lead after 22 minutes when Joel Campbell's creative dribbling left the Australian defence flat-footed, before the forward composed himself and put the ball past Young Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Birighitti.
Costa Rica's lead lasted just four minutes though as Tommy Oar made a smart run to the near post, which allowed him to flick on Bulut's header and find the back of the net.
The topsy-turvy encounter continued as Campbell netted his second just a minute later.
The Arsenal transfer target made a mockery of the Young Socceroos' defence as he found himself unmarked in the six-yard box and produced a neat sidefoot finish on his left foot.
Australia began to control the match in the second half and they snared a well-earned equaliser on 64 minutes when Francisco Calvo turned Bernie Ibini-Isei's cross into his own net.
It now appeared that the Young Socceroos could go on and win the match, but yet again, a defensive lapse allowed Costa Rica to score.
This time the goalscorer was John Ruiz, who found space to score a free header from a corner, only moments after a desperate Brendan Hamill block kept the scores level.
Australia battled in vain to score an equaliser, with the final whistle signalling an end to the match and potentially any hopes of progressing further in the tournament.
The result means the Young Socceroos now must beat tournament favourites Spain on Sunday to have any hope of getting out of their group stage.
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