Peru U20 1-1 Venezuela U20: highlights and Group A table analysis

Yohandry Orozco (Zulia) earned Venezuela a point with a fantastic goal in the second half to firmly establish himself as one of the standout players of the tournament so far. Osnar Noronha Montani (CNI) had given Peru the lead in the first half after some great work from the increasingly impressive Christian Cueva (Universidad San Martín).



With just one round of matches remaining in the first group stage, here is how Group A looks:

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Argentina	4	3	1	0	8	4	+4	10
Uruguay	3	1	1	1	6	3	+3	4
Venezuela	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
Chile	3	1	0	2	3	7	−4	3
Peru	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	1

Analysis:

• Argentina are through as group winners
• Uruguay are likely to join them unless they lose by 4 goals or more
• Chile face Venezuela with the winner progressing to the next round
• Venezuela can go through with a draw if...
• Peru don't win by exactly 3 goals. Or...
• ...They score at least as many goals as Peru
• Unfortunately for Peru they either need to beat Uruguay by 4 goals or more
• Or a 3 goal margin of victory would be enough as long as Venezuela/Chile draw and Peru get 2 more goals than Venezuela!

It is unfortunate that Thursday night may be the last time we get to see Christian Cueva in this tournament as he has been particularly enjoyable to watch. Hopefully Venezuela will do enough to advance giving Yohandry Orozco further opportunity to shine. 

Chile U20 1-3 Argentina U20: Argentina improve

Argentina ran out 3-1 winners against Chile in a game that exploded into life midway through the second half with four goals in fifteen minutes. Regretfully, this was only the first time I got to watch Chile in this competition. Their refreshing and enjoyable performances under Marcelo Bielsa at South Africa 2010 made their next crop of players an intriguing prospect. However I was slightly underwhelmed on this occasion.

Argentina had been underwhelming in their opening games despite picking up victories but tonight saw them improve somewhat on previous performances. However, it was not until the last ten minutes of the first half that they displayed positive signs of improvement. Chile dominated for much of the first half and really should have gone ahead through José Silva after some good work from Lorenzo Reyes.

After one or two more good moves from Chile, Argentina responded with some efforts of their own during the last ten minutes of the half. Facundo Ferreyra cut in nicely from the left, beat one defender, took the ball away from another but shot wide. He had also come close with an effort from outside the box after five minutes. The closest either side came to scoring in the first half was from an Argentina corner. Héctor Cardozo delivered a good ball which Juan Iturbe met at the near post but sent narrowly wide.

The first goal game on 57 minutes and was scored by Facundo Ferreyra. Claudio Mosca crossed a free kick into the area from which centre-back Leonel Galeano hit the cross bar. Ferreyra scored the rebound and went on to double his tally ten minutes later in the form of a good solo goal. After Luis Casanova was tackled in a dangerous area the ball found Ferreyra; he beat one defender and then beat the ‘keeper to his left while under pressure.

Barely a minute later Chile were back in it. A really nice move was tapped in by Alejandro Márquez and assisted by substitute Yashir Pinto who controlled the ball nicely before playing a good ball across the goal for Márquez. Game on? Not so much…  After four minutes, Claudio Mosca inadvertently restored Argentina’s two-goal advantage. A great effort from Michael Hoyos came back off the post and resulted in a brief scramble in Chile’s penalty area. An attempted clearance hit Mosca in the face and went in.

Argentina made a few changes for this game leaving key players Michael Hoyos and Rogelio Funes Mori on the bench to keep them fresh for the latter stages. However this was one of their better performance to date in the competition and they will hope to build upon it further with a full-strength line up. Chile played well in the first half but failed to create much after falling behind and defended poorly which ultimately cost them.

Notable performances / players to watch next time

Chile

Diego González (O’Higgins): Not a great performance overall, but attempted a couple of long-range shots (one ridiculously audacious from well inside his own half) and was not too far away with either. Perhaps worth keeping half an eye on in next few games.

Yashir Pinto (Concepción): Only played the last 25 minutes from the bench so did not have enough time to properly assert himself on the game. However he did very well to assist Márquez’s goal.

Argentina

Facundo Ferreyra (Banfield): Ferreyra was man of the match, showed good skill for his second goal and regularly caused Chile’s defence problems.

Michael Hoyos (Estudiantes): Only given 19 minutes but he absolutely made the most of it. Created the scramble for the third goal and impressed majorly on 87 minutes when he evaded Salgado with great skill before attempting a Maradona-style turn and winning a free kick in the process.

Esteban Andrada (Lanús): Another solid performance from the goalkeeper who was not at fault for the goal and made several good saves.

Day 6 highlights

Brazil U20 1-1 Bolivia U20: Brazil qualify for next stage

Bolivia earned a creditable draw against Brazil. Henrique (São Paulo) opened the scoring for Brazil before Darwin Rios (Guabirá) capitalised on a slip from Bruno Uvini (São Paulo).





Ecuador U20 1-0 Paraguay U20: Montaño's goal the difference

Ecuador have put themselves into a good position to qualify for the next stage after a narrow victory over Paraguay. Edson Montaño (Gent) has now won a penalty and scored a goal in two games for Ecuador. His nicely headed goal was assisted by a good cross from Renato Ibarra (El Nacional)

Day 5 highlights

Argentina U20 1-1 Venezuela U20: 2 errors, 2 goals


Sergio Araujo (Boca Juniors) and Yohandry Orozco (Zulia) both capitalised on individual errors to score for their teams. This was Araujo's first goal of the competition and Orozco enhanced his growing reputation with his first.








Chile U20 0-4 Uruguay U20: Uruguay record first win after smashing Chile


A fantastic strike from Pablo Cepellini (Peñarol) opened the scoring for Uruguay and an equally fantastic but altogether different goal from Diego Polenta (Genoa) finished it. In between that a tap-in from Cepellini earned him a brace and a fortunate free-kick resulted in Adrián Luna (Defensor Sporting) getting his name on the scoresheet. Cepellini was one of the better performers for Uruguay in their draw against Venezuela and his first goal will ensure more eyes are on him next time out against Peru. Polenta meanwhile is firmly asserting himself as the best Uruguayan at the tournament.

Colombia U20 1-3 Brazil U20: Best game of tournament so far

Brazil won their second match by two goals but Colombia provided a much stiffer test than Paraguay before them.

Both teams had lots of opportunities and played some really great football; in the first half Brazil came closest through Lucas, Willian and Diego Mauricio while Colombia had good chances from Javier Calle and Edwin Cardona.

Lucas linked well with the right-back Danilo, before dribbling to the edge of the box and firing a good shot which was nicely saved by the pleasantly named Andrés Mosquera Marmolejo. Four Brazilian players combined beautifully for Willian’s goal effort: Alex Sandro played a lovely ball over the top for Danilo who in turn back heeled it straight to Diego Mauricio. Mauricio then dribbled across the box before laying off to Willian who unfortunately saw his shot saved. Before that, Edwin Cardona had cracked the crossbar with a wonderfully struck free kick which Brazilian goalkeeper Gabriel just managed to get his fingertips to.

Just after the break with the score still at 0-0, Willian curled another great effort onto the post. The sheer quality and technique of all these efforts was truly a joy to watch.

On 54 minutes Brazil took the lead. Casimiro headed in from about two yards after Diego Mauricio assisted with a good cross. Ten minutes later it was two nil thanks to some great work from Lucas. He dispossessed Sebastián Viáfara just outside the penalty area, beat another defender and squared it to Willian for a tap in.

Barely a minute had passed before Colombia got one back. Some good dribbling from Fabián Castillo into the area forced a foul by Bruno Uvini and Colombia were awarded a penalty. Cardona converted.

With ten minutes to go Colombia were threatening to equalise and Castillo was a constant menace with his dribbling which was key. However after 86 minutes it was Neymar, who had been quiet all game, with a counterattacking goal that won it for Brazil. A good run saw him beat his man before smashing the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle – too powerful for the goalkeeper.

Notable performances / players to watch next time

Colombia

Edwin Cardona (Atlético Nacional): Colombia’s best player before surprisingly being substituted with about twenty minutes to go. Cardona looked promising against Ecuador but a lot of what he tried wasn’t coming off for him. Today however he looked very good indeed. He came so close with his wonderfully struck free kick and had a couple of other good long shots too. His passing was impressive and he was integral to Colombia’s good performance in this game.

Fabián Castillo (Deportivo Cali): Was a constant menace to Brazil. His dribbling looks exceptional in terms of close control, pace and quick feet. Won the penalty for his team and at one point looked like he might have scored or created an equaliser.

Andrés Escobar (Deportivo Cali): Also very impressive when running with the ball. Looks like he can dribble very well and he wins a large number of free kicks in dangerous positions.

Brazil

Lucas (São Paulo): Undoubtedly the man of the match. He was absolutely everywhere. He worked tirelessly in midfield to win possession, regularly took on players and beat them, displayed impeccable passing and delivered several quality through balls. And if that was not enough, he got an assist for the second goal and had a few good efforts of his own. A brilliant performance.

Diego Mauricio (Flamengo): Didn’t feature in the first game against Paraguay but introduced himself well in this one getting an assist in the process. Had several opportunities and really should have scored at least once. Still, look out for him later in the tournament and don’t be surprised if he pops up with a few goals. Also contributed well to several attacks.

A lot of the Brazil team played very well. Just want to briefly commend:

Willian (São Paulo): Got a goal and was regularly involved in promising moves by Brazil

Danilo (Santos): Had a bit of a mixed bag against Paraguay but improved for this game. Often looked dangerous playing as an attacking full back.

Casimiro (São Paulo)

Bolivia U20 0-1 Paraguay U20: smashing strike from Iván Torres settles it

Paraguay got a victory in their second game of the competition. A quiet game that started slowly, improved a bit in the middle but tailed off towards the end.

Both teams had fashioned an attempt or two at goal prior to Torres’ strike. Oscar Ruiz saw his attempt saved at the near post by Bolivian goalkeeper Luis Cardenas before Darwin Rios had an attempt after some good work from Diego Hoyos.

The only goal of the game arrived on 24 minutes; the Bolivian defence failed to close down Iván Torres who smashed it with the left foot and saw his wonderful shot go in off the post.

The goal gave the game a bit of a spark and Paraguay started to play better because of it, possibly due to some increased confidence and relieved pressure. They had a few chances to extend their lead but none of these were particularly clear-cut. Diego Benítez was particularly pleasing in these stages of the game as were both the Ruiz’s: Oscar and Nelson.

Bolivia had a few shots of their own; Diego Hoyos did well to gain enough space for his chance which came a few minutes after Paraguay’s Raúl Cáceres launched a vicious effort from distance which went wide.

In the second half, Paraguay continued to have a slight upper hand without dominating to a huge extent and Oscar Ruiz continued to impress. For the last twenty minutes both teams appeared to tire and the chances became few and far between. There was however one incident of note arriving in added time; Darwin Rios strongly appealed for a penalty for what he claimed was a foul by the goalkeeper. Replays suggested it was a dive.

Notable performances / players to watch next time

Bolivia

Diego Hoyos (Free Agent): Without excelling, he was Bolivia’s most promising attacking player and looked the most likely to get them back into the game.

Jorge Toco (Oriente Petrolero): Had a good game at centre-back, will be aggrieved at failing to close down Torres but it was a wonder-goal to be fair to him. Looks technically comfortable on the ball as well dribbling out of defence on more than one occasion.

Paraguay

Diego Benítez (Olimpia): Was taken off after 53mins but before that was arguably the best player on the pitch. Constantly caused Bolivia’s defence problems and popped up a few times with shots and crosses. He had a fairly good game against Brazil last time and he stepped it up for this one.

Oscar Ruiz (Free agent): Like Benítez, was regularly at the centre of Paraguay’s attacks and was perhaps unlucky not to get himself on the score sheet. Look out for him next time.

Iván Torres (Cerro Porteño): It was a great goal which displayed great technique and won the game for his team. He also played quite well for the rest of the game and made good contributions to attacks.

Venezuela U20 1-1 Uruguay U20: Probably a fair result with Uruguay possibly having a slight edge

A fairly dull game where neither side imposed themselves enough to gain the victory.

Venezuela took the lead after 20 minutes; a great run from Yohandry Orozco resulted in him laying the ball off to José Miguel Reyes whose shot from outside the area rolled under the goalkeeper and into the net. A bad mistake.

Uruguay were arguably the better side for the remainder of the half but did not create much and were restricted to long shots by the Venezuela defence. Diego Polenta came closest with his notable effort. A quiet first half ended with the score at one nil.

Uruguay continued to threaten intermittently in the second half; Adrián Luna went close to scoring with a well-struck free kick. A few minutes later they got the equaliser through Federico Rodríguez who coolly beat the goalkeeper with a side footed shot into the bottom left hand corner. The assist came from Camilo Mayada.

As the game neared its end Uruguay remained slightly the better side, however Venezuela were not without attacks of their own; Orozco and Reyes regularly combined nicely to give the Uruguayan defenders something to think about.

Whilst Uruguay may feel a little disappointed not to have won the game, Venezuela defended well and will be pleased with a point in their first game of the tournament.

Notable performances / players to watch next time

Venezuela

Yohandry Orozco (Zulia): He is Venezuela’s best player and whilst not excelling in this game, he did show flashes of his ability and will be watched closely throughout the tournament.

José Miguel Reyes (Carabobo): Combined well with Orozco on several occasions and looked promising on the ball. Got his name on the score sheet with a lucky goal.

Uruguay

Diego Polenta (Genoa): Definitely man of the match. He defended very well indeed, looked so comfortable running with the ball and playing out from the back and rarely if ever gave the ball away. A fine performance.

Federico Rodriguez (Peñarol): A cool, calm finish for his goal and he won a penalty in the opening game against Argentina. Keep an eye on him.

Peru U20 1-2 Argentina U20: Best team lose

Peru played nice football throughout, but lacked any penetration and looked fragile at the back: a fatal combination. Argentina played poorly, were reduced to ten men with fifteen minutes to go, but improved after the red card and stole a victory late on.

Argentina took the lead after 3 minutes; Michael Hoyos delivered a good free kick into the area and striker Rogelio Funes Mori headed the ball home from close range. For the remainder of the half, Peru dominated possession, passed the ball neatly and were enjoyable to watch. Jorge Bazán was especially involved early on but it was Christian Cueva who was the best and most hard-working player on the pitch.

Despite dominating, Peru were restricted to long range efforts (several from Angel Ojeda) by a well organised and spirited Argentina defence, Germán Pezzella was particularly good.

For the second half Argentina brought on Bruno Zuculini for Claudio Mosca who had impressed against Uruguay in the first game. This was interesting as Zuculini himself was substituted against Uruguay due to a lack of invention; something the team was severely suffering from here despite their one goal advantage.

In the opening stages of the second half Argentina created one or two opportunities (Juan Iturbe, who happens to be a free agent looked particularly dangerous). But Peru remained dominant in spite of the game becoming frustratingly broken up by a large number of fouls being committed by both sides. A fully deserved equaliser came after 65 minutes; Alexander Callens scored a powerful and accurate header from a Benjamín Ubierna corner. A great goal.

Things seemed like they had gone from bad to worse for Argentina when Nicolás Tagliafico was shown a straight red card for a late, high challenge on Giovanny Morales. However, the red card appeared to give Argentina a much-needed kick and they began to play better with ten men. With three minutes of normal time remaining, a good delivery into the box found Facundo Ferreyra who headed the ball back across goal to Bruno Zuculini and Argentina stole a victory with a good finish from about eight or nine yards out.

Peru were pleasing to watch at times in this game because of their good passing and movement. However, a total absence of any cutting edge or attacking instinct made for an increasingly frustrating performance. Time and again players like Cueva or Bazán would work hard to get into a crossing position and there would not be a single player waiting in the box. Argentina played with a very negative approach, were disciplined at the back and held their defensive shape well. But they consistently gave the ball away as soon as they had regained possession and will have to change if they are to beat stronger teams in the competition.

Notable performances / players to watch next time

Peru

Christian Cueva (Universidad San Martín): The man of the match. He worked extremely hard throughout, regularly running at Argentina and contributing a hell of a lot to Peru’s good performance. Really unlucky to end up on the losing team.

Jorge Bazán (Alianza Lima) Probably Peru’s second best player, kept cropping up in very good positions, can dribble well and looked dangerous.

Angel Ojeda (Melgar) Had four long-range efforts which unfortunately were all too close to the goalkeeper. However he always struck the ball very nicely and may yet score some spectacular goals this tournament.

Argentina

Esteban Andrada (Lanús): The goalkeeper was arguably Argentina’s best player. Made several good saves and one or two very good saves. Was playing as part of a very good defence, was a calming influence on his back line and never gave any cause for concern.

Michael Hoyos (Estudiantes): None of Argentina’s attacking players played particularly well, but Hoyos provided several good deliveries and got an assist for the first goal. That’s now one goal and one assist in two games.

Germán Pezzella (River Plate): As mentioned previously Argentina defended very well as a unit but Pezzella was perhaps the most impressive.

HIGHLIGHTS: Brazil U20 4-2 Paraguay U20

A chance to watch the Neymar show

HIGHLIGHTS: Colombia U20 1-1 Ecuador U20

HIGHLIGHTS Peru U20 0-2 Chile U20

The goals from the other opening day match 

HIGHLIGHTS: Argentina U20 2-1 Uruguay U20

Ahead of their match tonight against Peru. Here are the goals from Argentina's first game in the competition including a good strike from highly-rated number 10, Michael Hoyos

Brazil U20 4-2 Paraguay U20: Neymar immediately shines as nine-man Brazil record victory

Neymar was almost certainly the best-known player before the tournament began and the holders’ opening game saw him bag all four goals in a truly glittering display.

The first goal came from the penalty spot after 25 minutes; a fantastic run from Casimiro resulted in a foul by the goalkeeper. Neymar hit a soft penalty straight down the middle and must have been relieved that the keeper actually dived. Nine minutes later, some great individual skill saw him take the ball away from two defenders before beating the keeper at the near post: two nil. The hat-trick was sealed just after the hour mark when a very bad defensive mistake was punished by Neymar’s quick instincts as well as some luck; he hit the ball into the keeper which then rebounded back onto his chest before he nodded home from a couple of yards. If that was messy, the fourth was beautiful and came just three minutes later; a great long ball played out from defence was controlled neatly before an absolutely lovely chip beat the keeper and made it four goals in his first game of the championship.

Now, onto non-Neymar matters. Lucas and Alex Sandro were both talked about pre-tournament and both put in very impressive performances. Lucas got an assist for the second goal and really should have got a goal for himself with the score at two nil. He also forced an absolutely fantastic save from the Paraguay goalkeeper from a free kick. Alex Sandro was a constant threat marauding out of the left-back position and looks capable of terrorising many defences in this championship as an attacking full back.

Lets also mention the fact that Brazil finished the game with only nine men on the field. The game was very bad tempered with cards and scuffles aplenty and two Brazil players: Zé Eduardo and Henrique managed to pick up second yellows. In truth the numerical disadvantage was not made all too obvious in what was a good performance from Brazil.

Paraguay’s goals were scored by defender Diego Viera and Brian Montenegro who came on as a substitute. Aside from a brief spell of dominance after Brazil’s first red card (a spell which resulted in the first goal) Paraguay were second-best throughout this contest. Miguel Medina, their most highly-rated player was on the bench and will perhaps be called upon next game.

Players to look out for next time

Brazil

Neymar (Santos): Obviously.

Lucas (São Paulo): Really impressive performance from the midfielder, will be interesting to see if he maintains this level of performance against Colombia.

Alex Sandro (Santos): Like Lucas, was highly-rated before the tournament and justified all the talk with a very good display.

Bruno Uvini (São Paulo): Was absolutely solid at centre back and did not put a foot wrong. Also came very close to opening the scoring from a Neymar free kick early on.

Paraguay

Jorge Ortega (Tacuary): Probably the only Paraguay player to really impress. Others showed flashes of ability but Ortega can definitely be pleased with his performance.

Colombia U20 1-1 Ecuador U20

A penalty for each team ensured these South American neighbours began the campaign with a point each.

Colombia were without their star man James Rodriguez: the Porto attacking midfielder is struggling with injury but highly-rated Edwin Cardona and Michael Ortega were both in the starting XI. Ecuador’s most promising squad-member Juan Cazares was present for them.

The number 11s from both teams came close inside 25 minutes: Marcos Caicedo had a good effort from a free-kick before Fabián Castillo hit the post for Colombia. On the half hour mark Edson Montaño won a penalty for Ecuador: he controlled the ball well inside the area and was about to take it past the goalkeeper who fouled him in the process, right decision. Cazares sent the keeper the wrong way and slid the ball into the bottom right.

After conceding Colombia started to play better and missed a couple of chances to equalise before the break. They began the second half in similar fashion; Ortega delivered a good corner which was headed narrowly wide. With 20 minutes remaining Colombia got the equaliser they deserved but from a penalty that should never have been. Cardona dispatched it in cool fashion, side footing into the bottom left hand corner.

Colombia had more chances before the final whistle including one or two goalmouth scrambles but were unable to find the winner that their performance probably deserved.

Players to look out for next time

Colombia

Edwin Cardona (Atlético Nacional): Was never too shy to attempt a difficult ball and whilst a lot of what he tried did not come off today, he should be looked at carefully in the next few games.

Michael Ortega (Atlas): Probably Colombia’s best player in this game. Most attacks came through him, his passing was sound and he looks capable of providing many assists this tournament.

Fabián Castillo (Deportivo Cali): Like Cardona, a lot of what he tried did not work. Still he enjoyed a lot of time on the ball down the left hand side and occasionally looked very dangerous.

Santiago Arias (La Equidad): Had a good game defensively and occasionally made effective contributions to attacks. Came very close with a curling effort from just outside the area.

Ecuador

Juan Cazares (River Plate): Looks to be the most technically gifted in the Ecuador team. Passed the ball well but will want to improve shot accuracy next game.

Marcos Caicedo (Emelec): Caused Colombia more problems than anyone else, his pace and dribbling was a constant threat, Ecuador’s man of the match.

Edson Montaño (Gent): Did very well to win the penalty that won his side a point in the end. Will hopefully contribute more next time.