Under 20 World Cup - Argentina - Czech Final

The Czech Republic rode a pair of first half goals to book a place in the Under 20 World Cup- Final defeating Austria 2-0 on Wednesday.  On Thursday, Argentina put on a dominating display in burying Chile 3-0.  The Final will be played in Toronto on July 22nd.

Argentina 3  Chile 0
Chile conceded their first goals of these finals on Thursday against familiar opposition, losing out 3-0 after Argentina hit home through Angel Di Maria, Claudio Yacob and Maximiliano Moralez. The all-South American affair produced some occasionally dazzling football, but will be remembered primarily for its confrontational edge as the Chileans finished with only nine men.

After some nasty collisions and chest thumping in the middle of the park, the first chance of note fell to Argentina's Di Maria. An unfortunate slip at the six-minute mark by Gary Medel on the rain-soaked pitch allowed the Rosario Central striker in with a golden chance, but one that he could only push wide of the near post.  Just seconds later, Chile's Nicolas Medina forced Argentine keeper Sergio Romero into a fine save as the contentious affair looked to be settling into an interesting back-and-forth rhythm.

From nothing, the Argentines - who had created precious little up to that point - grabbed an opening goal on the 12-minute mark. Ever Banega, the brilliant Boca Juniors starlet, dribbled one man in midfield, then showed great determination to tackle the ball back from a second challenge before slipping a wonderful through pass to Di Maria racing into the box. He made no mistake this time, slamming his left footer off the inside of the post and into the back of net.

As the Chileans tried to adjust to life coming from behind (Di Maria's goal was the first they conceded at these finals) tempers boiled over. Chilean fullback Medel kicked out at Gabriel Mercado and was promptly given his marching orders by the German referee. Despite being down a man, the Chileans had the better of the play as the first half wore on. Gerardo Cortes nearly hit home with an audacious chip form 50 yards but La Rojita headed into the locker-room a man down and a goal behind.

The second period started with a major blow for the Argentines as scorer Di Maria limped off with what looked a hamstring pull. And in a nice touch of class in what was an extremely competitive contest, several Chileans came over to offer their condolences as tears streamed down the striker's face. All generous romanticism was banished just minutes later though, when, in the 65th minute, Argentina's 'little big man' Maxi Moralez crossed low from the left for Racing mate Claudio Yacob, who poked home from close range.

Having been booked a few minutes earlier, the scorer knew he would be missing the Final - Argentina's second on the trot - for an accumulation of cards, and showed great spirit in making sure he did his part on the night. Maxi Moralez then went on to put the game beyond doubt with a close-range tap in during stoppage time. Captain Matias Cahais will join Yacob in the stands for the Final against the Czechs, having picked up his second yellow of the second round in the over-tough semi-final. For Chile, Medel and Dagoberto Currimilla (who was sent off late in the match) will both miss the third-place game against Austria.

Czech Republic 2  Austria 0
Czech Republic booked the first ticket to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Final after a 2-0 semi-final victory over Austria in Edmonton on 18 July, 2007. Early strikes by Tomas Micola and Martin Fenin knocked the stuffing out of Austria and put the Czechs in a commanding position that they never looked like surrendering.

The Austrian coach Paul Gludovatz sprang a surprise by including star striker Erwin 'Jimmy' Hoffer from the start in place of Rubin Okotie, despite using the Rapid Vienna forward as a match-winning substitute in their previous two knockout round encounters, but this time he could not deliver. Defender Daniel Grammann came in for Thomas Panny, who broke his leg the day before the game, in a side featuring only five starters from their 2-1 extra-time defeat of USA in the quarter-finals. The Czechs, meanwhile, were unchanged from the team that kicked-off in their penalty shootout win over Spain in the last eight.

The match was only four minutes' old when the Czechs took the lead from a set-piece. Fenin weaved past right back Markus Suttner before being brought down on the edge of the box and when Austria goalkeeper Michael Zaglmair spilled Lubos Kalouda's low, curling free-kick, Micola was on hand to slot home the loose ball. Marek Suchy then fired narrowly wide as Miroslav Soukup's side made a bright, positive start and their lead was doubled in the 15th minute when Fenin turned in Ondrej Kudela's cross from the right flank at close range.

Austria, with Hoffer operating as a lone front man, struggled to get him any service in the first half and the scoreline could have been worse for them at the break had Zaglmair not saved well with his legs when Marek Strestik threatened to score a third. Austria's best opening came just before the interval when Suttner thundered in a left-foot drive which curled past Radek Petr's right-hand post. When the teams switched ends, the Czechs  went close from roughly the same position and it was an ominous start to the second half for Austria. Okotie joined Hoffer in attack as the hour-mark approached but the pair still could not make any inroads together as the Czech backline was efficiently organised and held up well, though Okotie was unlucky not to hit the target with a late header. The Czechs had done all the hard work early in the match in building their two-goal lead, although they did venture forward in search of more goals without success.

The skies darkened towards the end at the Commonwealth Stadium, where the customary flock of seagulls hovered, approximately 1,000 miles from the sea. Austria were similarly off course as they chased and harried to no avail looking for scraps but the Czechs offered nothing and stayed in full control until Austria midfielder Peter Hackmair brushed the top of the net with a drive from distance as the clock ran down. A crowd of 28,401 amused themselves with Mexican waves as the match petered out without further incident and the Czechs emerged victorious.

Chile or Argentina await Czech Republic in the Final in Toronto on 22 July, while earlier on the same day at the National Soccer Stadium, the Austrians take on the losers of tomorrow's second semi-final in the match for third place.