FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP 1/4 FINALS – DAY 1
Colombia – Ukraine
Venue: Stadion Miejski Widzewa, Łódź
The match between Colombia and Ukraine will be the first quarter-final played during this tournament.
Colombia is one of two South American teams left in the competition (the other is Ecuador) after finishing in second place in their group. They won their last 16 match against New Zealand after penalties. Los Cafeteros fans count on Cucho – their best striker who has now scored 3 goals in these World U-20 Championships.
The Ukrainian team wasn’t expected to play that well but the reality has turned out to be very different. Winning group matches against Qatar and the USA plus a draw against Nigeria left them facing Panama in the last 16 who they beat easily. It is possible they could well go on to beat this very good Colombian team too.
Will Danylo Sikan, Sergiy Buletsa or Denys Popov, the players who have scored all of the Ukrainian goals so far in this tournament, help the Ukrainian team advance to the semifinals?
STATSCORE prediction : Colombia – Ukraine: X (Ukraine win after penalties)
Italy – Mali
Venue: Tychy Stadium, Tychy
Fans in Tychy are waiting for the Italy – Mali clash.
Italy has had a fantastic tournament, especially in defence. In their four previous games, they have conceded just one goal (against Mexico). Goalkeepers – Alessandro Plizzari and Marco Carnesecchi have played a big part in this. Their strikers have not done as well as some and they have scored only 4 goals so far, but this has been enough to get them to the quarter-finals. Will they be able to do enough in the match against Mali to reach the semis?
Mali has been the most effective team in front of goal during these championships. 10 goals in 4 matches – this really is impressive but they have struggled in defence and have conceded 9 goals up to this point. They played really well against France when they lost 2:3 but in the last round, they created a big upset when they knocked out one of the favorites for the competition – Argentina.
So who will make it to the last 4? It is hard to predict.
STATSCORE prediction: Italy – Mali: 2
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