The final FIFA U-20 Football World Cup round of 16 matches were played yesterday, where Uruguay and South Korea became the last two teams to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals. The next stage of the tournament will kick off on Saturday in San Juan with the first two games, followed by the two remaining on Sunday in Santiago del Estero.
Uruguay (1) – Gambia (0)
With a goal by Anderson Duarte 20 minutes into the second half, Uruguay beat Gambia 1-0 in the Bicentennial Stadium in San Juan and got its pass to the quarterfinals. Gambia player Mansour Mbye got a red card only 15 minutes into the first half, but Uruguay also ended the game up with 10 players after Luciano Rodríguez was kicked off at the end of the first half.
Uruguay will now play the US in the quarterfinals at 6pm on Sunday, in the Mother of Cities Stadium in Santiago del Estero.
South Korea (3) – Ecuador (2)
In a high voltage match played in the Mother of Cities Stadium, South Korea beat Ecuador 3-2 and became the final team to qualify to the U-20 World Cup quarterfinals. Lee Young-Jun, Bae Joon-Ho and Choi Seok-Hyun scored for South Korea, Justin Cuero and Cristopher Zambrano for Ecuador. The highlight of the match was Bae Joon-Ho goal, Korea’s second, who made his way into the penalty box with a Ecuador player stuck to him and managed to free himself with an exquisite move, before sending the ball into the net far from the goalkeeper’s reach.
South Korea will now play Nigeria in the quarterfinals at 2.30 pm on Sunday, in Santiago del Estero.
The tournament will have a day off today, and will resume play Saturday with two matches, Israel-Brazil, at 2.30 pm in San Juan, and Colombia-Italy, at 6pm, in the same stadium.
-with information from Télam