The South American Championship U20, called the Sudamericano U20, is currently taking place at Ecuador (18 January-11 February). During the Matchday 5 of the first round, Ecuador and Uruguay secured top spot in the Group A and B respectively.
Group A : Ecuador 7 pts (+1), Colombia 7 pts (+1), Brazil 7 pts (+1), Paraguay 4 pts, Chile 2 pts
Chile needed a win to advance to the next round but they were beaten by Colombia (0-1). The winning goal was scored by Ever Valencia. The Atletico Bucaramanga player has already netted three times in this competition. In the second half, Eduard Atueste was close to double the lead for Colombia but his strike hit the post. Few minutes later, Chile had a big chance to equalize but the Francisco Sierralta’s shot crashed against the crossbar !
In the other game, the country host Ecuador secured top spot in this group A after earning a 2-1 win over Paraguay (2-1). The hosts sealed the win thanks to goals from Washington Corozo and Herlin Lino. Paraguay reduced the deficit thanks to a wonderful lob from Pedro Baez, who took part in the Toulon Tournament 2016.
Group B : Uruguay 8 pts, Argentina 6 pts, Venezuela 4 pts (+0), Bolivia 4 pts (-5), Peru 2 pts
Uruguay easily beat Bolivia (3-0) to claim to spot in group B. Agustin Rogel netted the opener, then the Boca Juniors starlet Rodrigo Betancur fired a wonderful shot into the top corner to double the lead. In the second half, Rodrigo Amaral scored his third goal in this tournament.
Few hours later, Argentina and Venezuela shared the spoils (0-0). Thanks to this result, both nations secured their spot for the next round.
The teams qualified for the next round : Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Venezuela.
REMINDER : the top four teams of the final tournament will qualify for the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup
Amayes Brahmi - Follow @AmayesB
Credits Photo : CONMEBOL