England and Italy advance to U20 World Cup semifinals
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) England and Italy finished their matches with 10 men and still advanced to the semifinals of the Under-20 World Cup on Monday.
The English held on to beat Mexico 1-0 at Cheonan Stadium while Italy rallied to defeat Zambia 3-2 in extra time in Suwon. England and Italy will meet in the semifinals on Thursday.
Striker Dominic Solanke scored the only goal for England, which was wearing armbands for the second time in the tournament following Saturday's attack in London.
Solanke received the ball from Lewis Cook just inside the area and shot past Abraham Romero in the 47th minute.
Joshua Onomah picked up his second yellow card in the 72nd minute, forcing England to finish the match with 10 men.
''All the players have realized we have a real opportunity to go and make history,'' coach Paul Simpson said after England reached a first Under-20 World Cup semifinal in 24 years. ''They are putting in performances that we knew they were capable of and we're delighted with.''
Earlier, Luca Vido headed in the winning goal for Italy in the 111th minute.
Italy played a man down for much of the match after Guiseppe Pezzella was sent off in the first half. Still, the Italians twice came from behind.
Patson Daka scored from inside the area to give Zambia the lead in the fourth minute, but Riccardo Orsolini equalized in the 50th. Zambia again went ahead in the 84th, getting a goal from Fashion Sakala, but Federico Dimarco curled home a free kick in the 88th to force extra time.
Pezzella was ejected for bringing down Edward Chilufya on the edge of the area.
Venezuela and Uruguay have also reached the semifinals and play on Thursday.
The final is set foJune 11 in Suwon, and the tournament is guaranteed a first-time champion.
