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FIFA U-20 World Cup: Colombia goes through, Portugal in good shape & more

Rodriguez (Getty Images)

FIFA Under-20 World Cup host Colombia won't be leaving its own party early.

Colombia defeated Mali, 2-0, on Tuesday to become the first team to seal a place in the knockout stage of the tournament.

Jose Valencia and James Rodriguez scored the goals, and FC Dallas Designated Player Fabian Castillo made his tournament debut, entering as a 61st-minute substitute for Colombia, which is almost assured of winning Group A. Colombia has a three-point lead over South Korea and France and an edge in goal differential of five and six over those two teams, respectively.

Here are a few more results from the U-20 World Cup:

PORTUGAL 1, CAMEROON 0

Portugal grabbed the top spot in Group B after topping Cameroon through Nelson Oliveira's 18th-minute strike. With no other team in the group having a victory through two matches, Portugal is in good shape to win the group, something it can accomplish with a victory over New Zealand on Friday.

URUGUAY 1, NEW ZEALAND 1

Adrian Luna's 74th-minute equalizer salvaged a point for Uruguay, as both teams settled for a second consecutive draw. Andrew Bevin scored 12 minutes into the second half for New Zealand, which needs a favorable result against Portugal to maintain its hopes of survival.

FRANCE 3, SOUTH KOREA 1

France recovered from its tournament-opening drubbing at the hands of Colombia to get right back in the thick of things in Group A. Gilles Sunu scored his second goal of the tournament, and Gueida Fofana and Alexandre Lacazette scored in the final 10 minutes to snap a 1-1 draw.

With a date with point-less Mali looming, the French are a solid bet to advance, at worst case as a third-place qualifier. South Korea, which got its goal through Kim Young Uk, is currently in second place in the group but faces Colombia in its stage finale.

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What do you think about the latest batch of U-20 World Cup results? Do you see Colombia making a deep run? How do you think Group B will play out?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I was kind of hoping that Colombia would be knocked out early so that Castillo could make an early return to FCD. But so far it looks like they are poised to make a deep run. At least Castillo got some solid playing time this game. Can someone who watched the match give a quick summary of how Castillo performed?

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  2. Colombia youth teams have looked good in recent tournaments. Hopefully this generation will continue to grow with their senior team in time for 2014.

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  3. Per US Soccer and Grant Wahl’s twitter, roster will be announced tomorrow, not today. Jurgen still contacting players personally.

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