Jese Rodriguez – Spain
The U20 World Cup reaches the quarter-finals with Uruguay taking on the tournament favourites Spain. This is one of the most anticipated games of the U20 World Cup so far. Spain have lived up to their expectations thus far as they dominated in the group stages. Uruguay have it all to do, after scraping a 2-1 win against Nigeria in the round of 16 but should prove a stern test against Spain.
Uruguay advanced to the quarter-finals after a brace by Nicolas Lopez who scored in the sixty-fifth minute and later on converted a penalty kick after Abdullahi Shehu was sent off towards the end of the first period, with Olarenwaju Kayode pulling Nigeria briefly level. Uruguay advances having finished second place to Croatia in Group F with six points, scoring 6 goals and conceding only 1.
That was the result of a 2-0 win against New Zealand and a 4-0 thrashing of Uzbekistan with a 1-0 loss against Croatia. Lopez has been Uruguay’s key player with four goals so far in the tournament. He will be looking to expose the Spanish defence who had a tough time in their round of 16 match.
Spain are through to the quarter-finals of the U20 World Cup after a last-gasp 2-1 win over Mexico. The Mexicans led for 72 minutes after Arturo Gonzalez scored in the first minute but Osede scored late in the 73rd minute to tie the game. In the 90th mintute Jese Rodriguez created a space for himself well before firing a game-winner from the edge of the area to break the hearts of the Mexicans.
That victory over Mexico was the fourth successive match in which the Spain striker has found the net at the tournament, which not only nudged him alongside Bruma at the top of the tournament’s scoring chart with five goals, but enabled him to emulate some of the game’s all-time greats. Only eight other players, after all, have scored in four consecutive FIFA U-20 World Cup matches, and among that group are names as familiar as Juan Roman Riquelme, Adriano, Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. None of these legendary figures, however, made it to five-in-a-row; only the Hungarian Vladimir Koman can currently boast that.
And it is Koman that Jese will be aiming for when Spain take on Uruguay in the last eight. Spain were the only side in the group stages to deliver a perfect nine points from three games, scoring 7goals and conceding just 2. That’s an impressive stat if you consider that they were drawn in the ‘Group of Death’ alongside France, Ghana and USA. This team was succesful at the UEFA European U19 Championship last year, beating Greece 1-0 in the final. Real Madrid B’s Jesse was their star, scoring that winner and topping the scoring charts with five goals. The juvenile Spaniards play a style similar to that of the country’s senior team. The heart of their play is focused on short passing and possesion combined with technical ability.
This should be a tightly contested match with both sides playing good football. Uruguay have had a great tournament thus far but Spain are the only side that have won all their games and that impressive form is tipped to continue.
