- Franco González - 49'
- Matías Abaldo - 90'+9'
- Bashir Humphreys - 22'
- Alfie Devine - 45'+4'
- Darko Gyabi - 90'+5'
England beat Uruguay to reach U20 World Cup knockout stage
England secured their place in the knockout rounds of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup after holding on for a 3-2 win over Uruguay in La Plata, Argentina, on Thursday.
Tottenham midfielder Alfie Devine had a hand in both goals as England took a 2-0 lead going into half-time. First, Devine's corner set up Bashir Humphreys to head in from six yards in the 22nd minute before he scored himself with a low drive in first-half stoppage time.
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But Uruguay refused to go down without a fight and deservedly hit back at the start of the second half when Franco Gonzalez's finish on the rebound was allowed to stand following a review form the Video Assistant Referee, having initially been ruled out for offside.
Having halted their opponents' momentum, England scored a fine third goal through Leeds United's Darko Gyabi in the fifth minute of added time.
There was still time for Matias Abaldo to pull a goal back for Uruguay after another rebound from a shot that goalkeeper Matthew Cox should arguably have done better with but it was not enough to prevent Ian Foster's side from making it two wins from two to claim a spot in the round of 16.
England, who beat Tunisia in their opening game, lead Group A with six points. Uruguay and Tunisia, who beat Iraq 3-0 later on Thursday, are on three points with Iraq yet to get off the mark.
The top two teams in each group plus the four best third-placed teams will qualify for the round of 16.
England will meet Iraq in their final group game on Sunday.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava
FIFA Under-20 World Cup Standings
Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
England U20 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +2 | 7 |
Uruguay U20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +4 | 6 |
Tunisia U20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
Iraq U20 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -7 | 1 |