Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Antalya: Uzbekistan suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of Uruguay but still managed to progress into the knockout stages of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2013 where they will face Greece on Tuesday.
The Uzbeks, who were unbeaten in the campaign following their impressive 3-0 win over New Zealand and 1-1 draw against Croatia, needed a win to progress as group winners but under pressure Uruguay had other ideas on Saturday’s night at the Akdeniz University Stadium.
Gino Acevedo opened the goals’ floodgates in the 38th minute as the score remained 1-0 in the first half. Uruguay scored three goals in the second period of the match with in-form Nicholas Lopez striking the ball past Uzbek goalie Asilbek Amanov in the 47th minute to make it 2-0.
Lopez then created the remaining two goals for his Uruguay teammates. Georgian De Arrascaeta in the 64th minute and Ruben Bentancourt in the 77th converted the chances created by Lopez as Uruguay finished second of Group F with six points. Croatia, who defeated point-less New Zealand 2-1 in another match of the day, claimed the top spot with seven points.
Photo: AFP