U20 World Cup Colombia update. 8/10/2011.

Where to begin? There were 4 really good games yesterday with Cameroon and Mexico remaining deadlocked 1-1 into penalties. There, Mexico easily dispatched the Africans 0-3. Meanwhile, the hosts (Colombia) faced Costa Rica in a hard-fought, pitched battle. Luis Muriel gave the Colombians the lead in the 56th minute before John Ruiz scored in the 63rd and Mynor Escoe again in the 65th to give the Costa Ricans a 1-2 lead. It didn't keep though, with Pedro Franco equalizing for the hosts in the 79th minute. So, it was 2-2 as the game drew to a close. Penalties loomed and the Colombians were fighting for survival. Salvation came from James Rodriguez who converted a brilliant 3rd minute of stoppage time penalty that clinched the continuation of the hosts' tournament hopes. Meanwhile, in the other tier, Portugal fought Guatemala in what ended 1-0 for the Europeans. Nelson Oliveira's 7th minute penalty conversion was enough for the Portuguese to go on to the Quarter-Finals. Last but not least, Argentina v.s. Egypt. It could have been a fantastic match. Instead, it was a game that was decided by penalty kicks. Not to say that the game wasn't intense, rather, more field action would have been nice. Erik Lamela was Argentina's hero, converting 2 penalties, in the 42nd and 64th minutes. So, that's a 2-0 lead for the Argentines. Egypt's Mohamed Salah did bring the Egyptians 1 back in the 70th, but that was the extent of their fight back as the Argentines held on for the win. More games come today as Brazil take on the impressive Saudi Arabians, Spain face South Korea, a match which may seem one-sided, but the South Koreans may be able to dig deep and cause an upset; you never know. In the other tier, France will face Ecuador in a game that could go either way. Nigeria v.s. England could be the greatest game of the tournament. The Africans are highly motivated and very talented while England are a hard-fighting, close-knit side. Keep watching!