U-17 World Cup: Colombia, United States in 2nd round

Navi Mumbai, Oct 12 (IANS)  Colombia outplayed the United States 3-1 in a Group A match to qualify for the knockout stages of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup at the DY Patil Stadium here on Thursday.

With this result, Colombia, the United States, with six points each, made it to the second round and Ghana, who thrashed India 4-0 in Delhi, are also through to the second round.

For Colombia, striker Juan Vidal opened the scoring in the third minute. George Acosta of the US then equalised in the 24th minute before Juan Penaloza gave Colombia the upper hand after the half time. And in the 87th minute, Deiber Caicedo dug the final nail.

It was a perfect start for Colombia as striker Vidal scored in the third minute to provide a crucial lead. 

But soon, George Acosta equalised. Carleton got on the end of the throw and he cleared the man on the right and gave the ball to Acosta, who slammed it into the net to make it 1-1.

After that, both the teams tried hard to get one but failed to do so and as a result the United States and Colombia went to half time with 1-1.

The second half started with both teams attacking each other. But it was Colombia which proved superior as Juan Penaloza, who scored a brace against India in the last match, found the back of the net in the 67th minute through a free-kick to make it 2-1.

With the pressure mounting on the United States, the Americans failed to rise to the occasion. They got several chances but could not make them count. 

Colombia's Caicedo then sealed the game for his country through a brilliant goal in the last few minutes of the game to hand the Americans their first loss in the group stage.