U-20 WC: Gambia, England, Tunisia win, South Korea hold Honduras – May 25 results
The four 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup games played on Thursday May 25 saw Gambia, England and Tunisia bag wins while South Korea held Honduras to a draw.
SPORTSRATION reviews the four games in this report.
FRANCE U-20 1-2 GAMBIA U-20
France started this encounter eyeing a win to bounce back from their opening day loss to South Korea.
A difficult task was made worse when Tanguy Zoukrou scored an own goal to gift Gambia the lead at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza.
The African team held unto the lead until France scored the equalizer through Wilson Odobert in the 61st minute.
Gambia reclaimed their lead through Mamin Sanyang and stood firm to seal 2-1 win over France.
That lead takes Gambia to top spot in Group F. They become the second African country [after Nigeria] to reach the last-16 with a game to spare.
URUGUAY 2-3 ENGLAND
A thrilling Group E clash it was when Uruguay and England locked horns on Wednesday evening.
The victory secured the Young Lions a place in the knockout rounds of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup after back-to-back wins.
Basir Humphreys and Alfred Devine fired England 2-up at halftime.
An improved second half performance by Uruguay ensured a frantic finally with the VAR kept busy with the big decisions.
In the 49th minute, Franco Gonzalez finished on the rebound to half the deficit for Uruguay.
Initially ruled out for offside, the goal was allowed to stand following a review form the Video Assistant Referee to show the forward was clearly onside.
Uruguay pressured for an equalizer but it was England instead who scored a third goal through Leeds United’s Darko Gyarbi in the 5th minute of additional time.
Matias Abaldo scored Uruguay’s next goal as it finished 2-3. A result to stay top in the group and qualify for the next round for Ian Forsters men.
IRAQ 0-3 TUNISIA
Both teams lost their opening game and so took to the turf in La Plata needing a positive result to keep their hopes of progression alive.
A drab first half gave way for a profitable second half for Tunisia.
Youssef Snana (55′), Chaïm El Djebali (57′) amd Mahmoud Ghorbel (86′ PEN) all scored to secure a 0-3 victory for the Tunisians who ended the game with 10-men following a red-card to Rayan Nasraoui in the 74th minute.
Tunisia occupy 3rd place in group E level on points with Uruguay ahead of their Matchday three clash on May 28.
SOUTH KOREA 2-2 HONDURAS
A 1-2 win over France in their first game gave South Korea a huge chance of sealing a round of 16 spot with victory over Honduras.
That wasn’t to be as Honduras were 2-0 up by the 51st minute following goals from David Ruiz (22′ PEN) and Isaac Castillo (51′).
Boosting of numerical advantage following the 27th minute sending off of Honduras opening goal-scorer David Ruiz, South Korea fought back to ensure a share of the spoils.
First, Kim Yong-Hak scored in the 58th minute before Park Seung-Ho leveled the score in the 62nd minute for 2-2.
South Korea’s Choi Seok-Hyun was sent-off in the 7th minute of additional time to ensure both teams walked off the turf with 10-men and a 2-2 result.
Action at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup continues on Friday May 26 with group A and B final group games.
