July 8, 2007

U-20 World Cup - Day 8 - Five more in, including Brazil

Spain 4-2 Jordan - Up in Vancouver/Burnaby yesterday, the Spaniards put on their most convincing performance of the tournament so far, advancing as Group B winners with a 4-2 win over Jordan. Adrian Lopez scored a 10-minute hat trick midway through the first half to seal the win and also move into the top spot on the scorer's sheet with 4 goals in the tournament. Spain will now play a third-place team from either Group A, C or D in the Round of 16.

Zambia 2-0 Uruguay - In quite possibly the 2nd biggest upset of the tournament thus far (after Poland's win over Brazil), the Zambians shot past the Uruguayans to claim 2nd place in Group B with a convincing 2-0 win. Zambia will now play Nigeria in the Round of 16, and despite their pitiful performance on Saturday, Uruguay will also advance as one of the best 3rd place teams, where they will play either the winner of Group C or D.

Costa Rica 2-1 Scotland - With only an outside shot at being a 3rd place qualifier on the line, the Costa Ricans stunned the Scots out of their kilts by coming from behind to take a 2-1 win and keep them in the tournament for the time being. Jonathan McDonald's stoppage time goal leaves the Ticos waiting today to see if they'll be around for the knockout stages. Their fate rests in the hands of Gambia, who will advance with a tie or win against Portugal today.

Japan 0-0 Nigeria - With both teams already qualified for the Round of 16, all that was in play was the top spot in Group F. The 0-0 draw gave Japan the top spot over the Nigerians, setting up an all-African match in the Round of 16 when the Nigerians take on Zambia, while Japan will take on the Czech Republic.

In addition, with the Costa Rica result, Brazil also advanced to the Round of 16 as one of the 4 best 3rd place teams. The Brazilians finished on 3 points with a -1 goal differential and 4 goals scored. North Korea finished with 2 points in Group E, while the Costa Ricans, who still have a shot at advancing, also have 3 points with a -1 goal differential, but only scored 2 goals. Therefore, with 2 3rd place teams with worse results, the Brazilians have moved through.

Today's games

Group C - Edmonton and Montreal

New Zealand vs. Mexico - 5:15 p.m. EST - Edmonton
Portugal vs. Gambia - 5:15 p.m. EST - Montreal

Group A - Edmonton and Toronto

Canada vs. Congo - 8:00 p.m. EST - Edmonton
Chile vs. Austria - 8:00 p.m. EST - Toronto

Check back tomorrow, as we'll have another roundup and predictions for the Round of 16.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

In other news, Atlanta beat Vancouver 2-0.