FIFA U-20: Argentina beat New Zealand and is on to the second round

Uzbekistan, Ecuador and the US also won in yesterday’s matches

Argentina's U-20 Men's National Team. Credit: Télam

Argentina played its third match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup yesterday and convincingly beat New Zealand 5-0. With this result, the squad led by coach Javier Mascherano punched its ticket to the second round of the tournament as Group A winner undefeated in its three games. 

Argentina will play its Round of 16 match on May 31 in the Bicentennial Stadium in San Juan, but its rival is still unknown, as it will emerge once the positions in the remaining groups are set and the fixture is decided. 

In other matches played on Friday, Uzbekistan beat Guatemala 2-0 in Santiago del Estero and came in second in Group A behind Argentina, also winning its ticket to the second round. Uzbekistan will play on May 20 in the Malvinas Argentinas Stadium in Mendoza. New Zealand has to wait and see if it can make it to the second round as one of the four best third-place teams, which will be determined once all games are played.  

In Group B, the United States beat Slovakia 2-0, while Ecuador beat Fiji 9-0, a historic beating that ranks as the third biggest blowout in FIFA U-20 World Cup history. The US and Ecuador also move on to the Round of 16, but their rivals are still to be determined in light of how the other groups play out. 

A goal for the ages

The highlight of Argentina’s categorical victory against New Zealand was undoubtedly the third goal of the match, scored by Luka Romero. The midfielder, who currently plays for Italy’s Serie A club Lazio, grabbed the ball at midfield and pushed forward all the way to the edge of the penalty box, where he suddenly struck the ball with his left foot and sent it soaring into the goal defended by Kees Sims. 

Romero is an archetypical member of the upcoming generation of Argentine football stars who were born in different countries, but chose to play for Argentina. In Romero’s case, he was born in Mexico to an Argentine father (former player Diego Romero), and then moved to Spain, where he started playing in Malaga Club. At age 15, he became the youngest player to ever play in LaLiga tournament. In 2021, he was transferred to Lazio.

-With information from Télam  

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