Following in the footsteps of Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico and Belgium on Wednesday, Croatia, Mali, Ecuador and Costa Rica all advanced on Thursday, completing the quarter-final line-up of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015.
While the Malians, Croatians and Ecuadorians all took charge of their Round-of-16 encounters early on and never looked back, Costa Rica emerged victorious from a war of attrition with previously free-scoring France.
Les Bleuets, one of the favourites for the tournament, struggled to break down the resilient Ticos defence in 90 minutes, and saw their hopes of adding a global crown to their European one evaporate in the ensuing shoot-out (0-0, 3-5 on penalties).
Ecuador ran out 4-1 winners over Russia, taking full advantage of the Europeans’ defensive lapses, while Croatia demonstrated the form they displayed against Nigeria during the group phase by completely negating Germany’s attack and finishing clinically at the other end for a fine 2-0 victory.
Elsewhere, Mali made light work of Korea DPR (3-0), grabbing an early opener and controlling the rest of the match in an impressive and mature performance.
ResultsRound of 16Croatia 2-0 Germany
Mali 3-0 Korea DPR
Russia 1-4 Ecuador
France 0-0 Costa Rica (3-5 on penalties)
Mali 3-0 Korea DPR
Russia 1-4 Ecuador
France 0-0 Costa Rica (3-5 on penalties)
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