Fernando Romero Nuñez Argentina’s men’s national U-17 football team beat Venezuela 5-0 in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, sealing its place in the quarter-finals. The team coached, by Diego Placente, is set to face defending champions Brazil on Friday for a spot among the final four.
The Albiceleste’s opener came in the 15th minute of the first half when winger Ian Subiabre dribbled his way into the box and put a cross that was pushed by Venezuelan defender Luís Francisco Balbo into his own net.
Just seven minutes later, Subiabre put another cross from the left. The Venezuela defense cleared the ball but it fell to the feet of forward Santiago López, who controlled it and shot into the bottom right corner for the 2-0.
In the 32nd minute, winger Claudio Etcheverri played a one-two with midfielder Valentino Acuña, who then found him for a clear sight of goal to score the third goal of the game.
The fourth goal would come well into the second half. After a VAR review, Argentina got a penalty due to Franco Mastantuono getting pushed in the 70th minute. Striker Agustín Ruberto scored with elegance, chipping the goalkeeper for 4-0.
Just nine minutes later, the River Plate striker controlled the ball inside the box and turned to score the 5-0, taking his tournament tally to five to become the World Cup’s top scorer.
Argentina will now take on Brazil on Friday at 9 a.m. Argentina time. The Verdeamarelha, four-time winners in the U-17 age group, is defending its 2019 title. It reached the quarter-finals after beating Ecuador 3-1 on Monday.
Argentina has never been crowned in the U-17 category, the only title it hasn’t won in the men’s game. In fact, the Albiceleste has never reached a final and only has three bronze medals to its name, in 1991, 1995, and 2003.
Should the Albiceleste win, it will face the winner of the clash between Spain and Germany.
