Argentina Secures Knockout Spot at Under-20 World Cup

By: Gyang Dakwo

Host Argentina secured its spot in the knockout stage of the Under-20 World Cup on Tuesday with a convincing 3-0 win over Guatemala.

Argentina faced little difficulty against Guatemala, with the tournament hosts opening the scoring in the 17th minute with a header by Alejo Veliz. A red card for midfielder Carlos Santos in the 58th made it easier for the locals in Santiago del Estero, and they doubled their lead with Luka Romero in the 65th.

Argentina’s Tomás Aviles was sent off in the 82nd, but the hosts still found an opportunity in stoppage time to score with midfielder Máximo Perrone pushing the ball into an empty net.

In the earlier Group A encounter, Sherzod Esanov scored in second-half stoppage time as Uzbekistan rallied to salvage a 2-2 draw against New Zealand. Uzbekistan trailed 2-0 after first-half goals by Benjamin Wallace and Jay Herdman. Abbosbek Fayzullaev started the comeback with a goal in the 51st minute.