FIFA U20 World Cup: Spain and US eliminated as France and Argentina reach semi-finals

The FIFA U20 World Cup quarter-finals produced some shocking results, as Spain and the United States got eliminated, while France, Morocco, Argentina, and Colombia advanced to the semi-finals.Below is a recap of what happened in the quarter-final.

France avoid late drama vs the Netherlands

The quarter-final ended with France beating the Netherlands 2-1 on Monday morning.France opened the scoring in the 19th minute through a lovely team move when Noham Kamara set up Saimon Bouabre to apply the finish. Bouabre doubled France’s lead in the 37th minute, picking the bottom corner from close range after receiving a pass from Andrea Le Borgne.Norway halved the deficit in the 83rd minute, but it was too late for them to stage a comeback.France will now face Morocco, who defeated the United States 3-1.

Morocco stun the United States

Despite the United States’ dominance early on, Morocco took the lead just after the half-hour mark courtesy of Yassir Zabiri’s strike.Cole Campbell put the US back on level terms before the end of the first half. However, Joshua Wynder’s own goal and Gessime Yassine’s late strike handed Morocco the victory.

Argentina beat nine-man Mexico

Argentina got off to a flying start, scoring inside nine minutes through Maher Carrizo, and Mateo Silvetti sealed their victory before the hour mark.Mexico’s woes deepened late on as Diego Ochoa and Tahiel Jimenez got sent off.

Colombia triumphs in five-goal thriller vs Spain

Neiser Villarreal put Colombia ahead in the first half before two goals in quick succession from Rayane Belaid and Jan Virgili completed the turnaround for Spain.However, a brace from Villarreal turned the tide of the game around in Colombia’s favour. He is now the competition’s joint top-scorer alongside the United States’ Benjamin Cremaschi.Colombia face Argentina in the second semi-final clash in the early hours of Thursday.