Spain forward Jese scored in stoppage-time as his team came from behind to beat Mexico 2-1 and set up a quarter-final against Uruguay at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup on Tuesday.
The European under-19 champions will be joined by France, who defeated hosts Turkey 4-1 to line up a last-eight meeting with Uzbekistan, 3-1 winners over Greece.
Jese’s strike from outside the area was deflected by Mexico defender Abel Fuentes and goalkeeper Richard Sanchez could only dive over the ball. It was his fifth goal of the tournament.
Photo: AFP
Mexico stunned tournament favorites Spain in the second minute when Arturo Gonzalez came in from the left and sent a diagonal shot past goalkeeper Daniel Sotres.
Spain recovered quickly and found their usual rhythm of short passes and moves in midfield. However, they struggled to reach the forwards against Mexico’s well-placed defense.
The South Americans, who missed suspended midfielder Jesus Escoboza, created danger through quick counterattacks, though Raul Lopez’s header in the 19th minute went just over the bar and a thundering long-range shot by Jorge Espericueta hit the crossbar in the 31st.
Spain continued to dominate possession in the second half as they gained control of the match. The Mexico defense started to falter and Spain finally got the chances they had been looking for.
Captain Paco Alacacer was set up by Jese in the 51st minute, but goalkeeper Sanchez saved his low shot with his left foot.
The game turned around when Mexico left Derik unmarked in the 74th minute when he received a corner-kick at the far post, leaving the defender an easy chance to level.
Nicolas Lopez scored twice in the second half to give Uruguay a 2-1 win over Nigeria, who were down to 10 players just before halftime.
Defender Abdullahi Shehu committed two fouls within two minutes, receiving a straight red card for the second in the 41st minute.
Lopez scored from close range in the 65th minute after the Nigeria defense failed to clear the ball from the penalty area, only for a long-range strike by Olarenwaju Kayode to make it 1-1 four minutes later.
Lopez converted a penalty in the 84th minute after substitute Diego Rolan dribbled past goalkeeper Chukwunenye Okani and was fouled.
Meanwhile, France dominated the first half of their round-of-16 match against Turkey.
Captain Paul Pogba returned from suspension to lead the midfield, while strikers Jean-Christophe Bahebeck and Yaya Sanogo were a constant threat to the Turkey defense.
France took the lead after a mistake by Aykut Ozer in the 18th minute. The Turkey goalkeeper dropped the ball after a Bahebeck corner and Geoffrey Kondogbia was on hand to tuck it into the net.
France doubled their lead 13 minutes later when Bahebeck’s header at the near post wrong-footed Ozer.
Turkey battled their way back into the match in the second half, but lacked a finisher, and they left plenty of space while pressing forward in search of a goal.
France striker Florian Thauvin sent a penalty-kick well over the crossbar after Baheback was brought down by Fatih Turan in the 64th minute, but Sanogo and Jordan Veretout added two goals within 10 minutes as they rounded off counterattacks.
Sinan Bakis scored for a consolation for Turkey in the 79th minute.
France now face Uzbekistan, who had never before gone beyond the group stage, but defeated Greece in a match that included three penalties and two red cards.
Uzbekistan took the lead in the 26th minute when Abbosbek Makhstaliev beat Greece goalkeeper Stefanos Kapino at the near post.
Greece captain Konstantinos Stafylidis equalized from the penalty spot seven minutes later, but his team lost control of the game when defender Dimitrios Kourpelis picked up his second booking for a foul in the area after an hour.
Igor Sergeev converted the penalty and Sardor Rakhmanov added another in the 83rd minute.
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
His team were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in agonizing fashion on Tuesday, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DR Congo) human statue Michel Kuka Mboladinga would be remembered as the tournament’s most remarkable supporter. The colorfully dressed Kuka has earned fame as the fan who stands completely immobile throughout his team’s games, looking toward the sky with his right arm raised and palm open. He has become a media star and on Tuesday was accompanied by a delegation of several hundred Congolese supporters whose trip to Morocco was paid for by the country’s government. They took their
RSS