Colombia will face France on Saturday for third place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, a chance for Colombia to salvage a historic finish. Credit:AP/ColombiaOne.
Colombia faced France on Saturday for third place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, and salvaged a historic finish after falling short in the semifinals. Colombia beat France 1-0 with a goal by Perea, and secured the third spot on the U-20 world cup.
The match was scheduled for 4 p.m. local time at Estadio Nacional (2 p.m. in Colombia). Colombia coach César Torres called for his players to put the sting of a 1-0 semifinal loss to Argentina behind them and fight for a medal. “We failed, we wanted to bring a title to Colombia. You have to chew the pain, swallow it. Now we must try to take third place,” Torres said after the defeat.
Colombia lined up with Jordan Garcia in Goal, Carlos Sarabia, Simon Garcia, Yeimar Mosquera, and Juan Arizala in the back. Julian Bazan, Joel Romero, and Kener Gonzalez will play in midfield. Royner Benitez, Neiser Villareal, and Oscar Perea will play up front
Colombia will try to win ‘bronze’ against France in the U-20 World Cup
Colombia arrived in Santiago unbeaten until the semifinal. The team lost momentum against Argentina but showed attacking firepower earlier in the tournament, notably from Néiser Villarreal, who leads the tournament scoring charts with five goals. Villarreal missed the Argentina game because of yellow-card accumulation but returned to the squad for the third-place match, as did right back Carlos Sarabia, who also served a suspension in the semis. Midfielder Jordan Barrera remains a doubt after suffering a muscular problem against Spain in the knockout rounds. Defenders Andrés Canchimbo and Rentería will not feature because of injury and a red-card suspension, respectively.
France, the 2013 U-20 champion, was eliminated by Morocco on penalties after a 1-1 draw that extended to 120 minutes. Bernard Diomède’s side reached the knockout phase as one of the best third-place teams and scraped through subsequent rounds, but its campaign has been hampered by departures and absences. Midfielder Saïmon Bouabré left the squad after the round of 16 when his club limited his availability; other high-profile youth names such as Désiré Doué, Warren Zaïre-Emery, and Mathys Tel were also absent for parts of the tournament.
“Players are competitors, we try to transmit a culture of victory, so it’s difficult,” Diomède said after the loss to Morocco, acknowledging his team’s disappointment. France’s XI included Lisandru Olmeta in goal; Gady-Pierre Beyuku, Noham Kamara, Elyaz Zidane and Justin Bourgault at the back; Tadjidine Mmadi, Moustapha Dabo and Mayssam Benama in midfield; and Ilane Toure, Anthony Bermont and Lucas Michal leading the attack.
A win would match Colombia’s best-ever U-20 World Cup result, third place in 2003. For France, third place would be consolation after a campaign that rarely matched the high expectations that surround French youth teams. The third-place game will be televised in Colombia by Caracol and RCN and available on FIFA+ and other regional broadcasters.