Under 20 World Cup Update - July 7th

Spain 4  Jordan 2
A rapid-fire hat trick from Adrian Lopez eased Spain to a 4-2 victory over Group B rivals Jordan this Saturday in Burnaby's Swangard stadium. The result ensured La Furia Roja go through to the Round of 16 as group winners.  A much-changed Spanish line-up did not take long to gel, Adrian Lopez heading his side in front on 29 minutes from Iriome Gonzalez's cross. Barely three minutes later, Lopez struck again, firing home right-footed from Marcos Garcia's corner. Jordan then had their best opening of the game, though Ala Al Bashir could only rattle the crossbar with his effort. With just six minutes to go before the half-time interval, up popped Lopez again to grab his third of the game, thanks to an unselfish pass from Marcos. Jordan reduced the deficit three minutes after the break, Loiy Al Zaideh putting the finishing touch to a flowing counter-attack that began with a Spain free kick on the edge of the Jordanian box. Eleven minutes later it was 3-2, Abdallah Salim flighting a beautifully taken free kick into the top corner. The introduction of Sunny and Capel brought some much-needed calm to the Spanish ranks, Marcos catching the Jordan defence napping in the 79th minute to head home from a set piece. Spain now await the identity of their last-sixteen opponents, while Jordan, on one point, bid farewell to Canada 2007.

Costa Rica 2  Scotland 1
With literally the last kick of the game, CONCACAF's Costa Rica earned their first win of these finals to send Scotland - winless from three matches - tumbling out of the competition. The Group F contest in Burnaby was an exciting affair and the Ticos will now be hoping things go their way on Sunday as they are still technically in the hunt for a spot in the knockout stages with three points. The Scots looked to be heading for their first-ever win when Mark Reynolds put them ahead on 18 minutes after getting on the end of a nice piece of interplay. But the Ticos - determined not to leave Canada with at least a point for their troubles - dug deep and threw everything into a frenzied attack. Their equaliser came on 57 minutes and had a hint of good fortune about it. A deflected shot bounced of a Scottish defender, was whiffed on by Jean Solarzano and finally tucked home by Pablo Herrera. And with the momentum going their way in the dying moments the Scottish-sounding Costa Rican striker Jonathan McDonald hammered home from close range to seal the affair. Costa Rica will now have to hope results go their way in tomorrow's matches to determine if they finish as one of the four top third-place finishers and slip into the knockout rounds. Japan finished top of Group F after a 0-0 draw in their final match with Nigeria.

Nigeria 0  Japan 0
Despite having the run of play for much of the match against a radically changed Japan side, Nigeria failed to make their opportunities pay as they were held to a 0-0 draw on Saturday in Victoria and will have to settle for the second spot in Group F. Both teams finish the opening stage on seven points from their three encounters, with the Japanese claiming the top of the table only on goals scored.  After a shaky start, the Flying Eagles asserted themselves on the match and had a handful of chances to bulge the net. Big striker Brown Ideye was the guiltiest party, missing the target on either side of half-time when he should have done better after being left unmarked in front of goal. Japan were happy to counterattack as the match wore on, and as Nigeria left themselves open at the back the Africans were saved by a trio of outstanding saves by goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa - the third they've played in the finals thus far. With just five minutes to play, Japanese substitute Michihiro Yasuda just couldn't reach a header in front of goal when it looked like he might settle things once and for all. Nigeria had a final serious chance of their own near full time when Nduka Ozokwo flashed a shot from 20 yards just wide of the target. The draw means Japan will stay in Victoria to face Group E runners-up Czech Republic on Wednesday 11 July, while Nigeria will now have to travel to Ottawa to face Group B runners-up Zambia the next day.

Zambia 2  Uruguay 0
Dangerous Zambia shocked Uruguay 2-0 in Victoria on Saturday to claim second place in Group B on four points and a spot in the second round of Canada 2007. Despite their second lacklustre performance on the trot, Uruguay will also advance as one of the best third-place teams.  The Copper Bullets opened the scoring in the 19th minute from a penalty after Uruguay goalkeeper Mauro Goicoechea's clearance came back off of Emmanuel Mayuka, and the netminder was forced to haul him down. With the starting keeper sent off in tears, Zambia's Clifford Mulenga made no mistake by sending his replacement the wrong way from the spot. However, the teams were back to even numbers five minutes before half-time when Henry Nyambe was shown red for a bone-clattering challenge on Mauricio Prieto. Nonetheless, the sprightly Africans doubled their advantage six minutes on the other side of the break when Stophira Sunzu split the Uruguayan defence to find Mayuka, whose shot was saved only for Rodgers Kola to tap in the rebound. It was a promising performance for the Zambians, who had previously taken a point from Jordan and lost to Spain. They will now face the second-place team from Group F, the loser of the later Nigeria-Japan match, in Ottawa on 12 July. The Uruguayans limp into the Round of 16 needing to improve their form against the winner of either Group C or D to be determined by results later.