THE knockout rounds of the Under-20 World Cup opened with a
major upset Wednesday as Mali shocked Ghana 3-0, while Serbia staved off
near-certain elimination to beat Hungary 2-1 in extra time.
Bence Mervo put underdog Hungary ahead with his fifth goal
of the tournament in the 57th minute but Serbia, reduced to 10 men, equalised
though Ivan Saponjic in stoppage time and took the match with a heartbreaking
own goal by Attila Talaber in the 118th minute. Talaber was inconsolable when
the final whistle sounded.
Mali defied all pre-match predictions when it outclassed
Ghana. It was the first time Ghana’s ‘Black Satellites’ had fallen before the
quarterfinals, and they won the tournament in 2009.
The cruel nature of knockout football was on show in the
Serbia-Hungary clash at Dunedin. Serbia, which topped Group D and was heavily
favoured to beat a Hungary team which squeaked into the knockout stage via
third place in Group E.
But Hungary stunned Serbia when Mervo swept a low cross into
the net from close range in the second half. Hungary then defended intrepidly,
resisting waves of Serbia attacks as the clock ticked down.
When Serbia’s Milan Gajic was sent off for a second yellow
card late, it appeared the favourite’s hopes were at an end, but they conjured
an equaliser just before the final whistle when Saponjic raced forward to head
the ball past goalkeeper Gyorgy Szekely.
Extra time was near an end and penalties beckoning when
Talaber attempted to clear a ball across the face of goal but succeeded only in
lobbing it over the head of Szekely and into the net.
The goal sent Serbia into the quarterfinals, where they will
face the winner of Wednesday’s later match between the United States and
Colombia.
Earlier, Mali took charge from the outset against Ghana, who
seemed out of sorts in cold, wet and windy conditions in Wellington.
After several dangerous raids, Mali opened the scoring in
the 20th minute with a superb goal to Diadie Samassekou. After a flurry of
passes on the edge of the area with Adama Traore, Samassekou threaded a low
shot between the near post and the outstretched arm of goalkeeper Lawrence Ati.
Defensive midfielder Souleymane Diarra pressed forward
continually and forced two sharp saves from Ati. His powerful long-range strike
was saved by the Ghana keeper and after eluding the defenders he forced another
desperate save with a low shot at the near post.
Mali’s relentless approach paid off again when Dieudonne
Gbakle scored in the 53rd minute and Aboubacar Doumbia put the result beyond
doubt when he netted in the 81st.
Mali will now face the winner of Thursday’s glamour match
between Germany and Nigeria in a quarterfinal at Christchurch on Sunday.
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