Spain and Brazil advanced in the Under-20 World Cup on Wednesday, setting up a quarter-final match between two teams with genuine title aspirations.
Brazil beat Saudi Arabia 3-0 in Barranquilla, while Spain narrowly escaped a shock defeat by South Korea, winning a penalty shootout 7-6 after 0-0 draw in regulation and extra time in Manizales.
Nigeria enhanced their status as one of the title contenders after beating England 1-0 in Armenia for their fourth straight victory. France also advanced, edging Ecuador 1-0. Six-time champion Argentina, Portugal, Mexico and host Colombia had progressed to the last eight on Tuesday.
Four-time champion Brazil struggled in the first half but scored three goals in the second period to clinch their spot in the quarterfinals. Striker Henrique scored in the 46th minute, Gabriel Silva added to the lead in the 69th and substitute Dudu sealed the victory in the 86th. In the other quarterfinals, it will be Argentina v Portugal, Colombia v Mexico and Nigeria v France.
Spain struggled against South Korea and just barely avoided an upset. The Spaniards had won all of their matches so far but were not able to get past the South Korean defense in regulation and extra time, while South Korea’s Kim Kyung-jung missed the deciding penalty, firing over the crossbar. Spain goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco had stopped South Korea’s third attempt, by Lee Ki-je, while Koke missed Spain’s only shot over the crossbar.
In Cartagena, Antoine Griezmann scored in the 75th to give France a 1-0 victory over Ecuador. Griezmann tapped the ball home after Ecuador keeper John Jaramillo made the initial save but failed to control the rebound.
Earlier in Armenia, Nigeria advanced with a close-range goal by striker Edafe Egbedi in the 52nd in front of nearly 20 000 fans at the Centenario stadium.