Austria and Panama played out a 0-0 draw in their Group E curtain-raiser at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The Europeans had the better of the chances, but found goalkeeper Luis Mejia in fine form.
Under 29-degree heat in Cartagena, the crowd revelled in a enchanting performance of music and dance before kick-off.
Then it was down to business, and it was Panama that first produced a fine piece of work, with Francisco Vence feeding Harold Cummings, who drilled his shot just wide. The lively Jose Alvarez then dribbled neatly into the Austrian area, before releasing a limp shot which came to nothing.
Andreas Heraf's team had a glaring chance on 28 minutes. Andreas Weimann fed Robert Zulj, who found himself one-on-one with Panama No1 Luis Mejia following a slip-up by Cummings. The agile goalkeeper parried the forward's initial effort, and then superbly saved Zulj's follow-up attempt.
After the break, Mejia twice denied Weimann, whose team-mate Georg Teigl should have done better when well placed on 75 minutes.
The final opportunity of a tame contest fell to Panama. Eric Davis did well to find Cecilio Waterman, whose shot was punched away by Samuel Radlinger. The referee's whistle confirmed a result which was good for neither side.
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