CONCACAF representatives Honduras found themselves on the wrong end of the FIFA U-20 World Cup’s biggest upset on Thursday, with intensity levels rising down under as the tournament in New Zealand approaches the knockout stages.
Los Catrachos were stunned 3-0 by unheralded Fiji in Christchurch, as Iosefo Verevou, Saula Waqa and Atonio Tuivuna found the net to give the Oceania representatives a shocking halftime lead that they protected capably down the stretch, led by the strong goalkeeping of Misiwani Nairube. Honduras owned 59 percent of possession and uncorked 31 shots, but only seven were on target.
Orlando City’s Young Designated Player Bryan Róchez and Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Deybi Flores both logged a full 90 minutes in the loss, which leaves their hopes of advancement from Group F hanging by a thread given that they must face mighty Germany in their final group-stage match. Meanwhile, Fiji – who lost to Germany 8-1 in their opener – will meet winless Uzbekistan with a chance to leapfrog the Hondurans into second place and a guaranteed berth in the Round of 16.
“Football has days like this,” said Honduras coach Jorge Jimenez afterward. “We expected Fiji to play a different kind of game, and anxiety set in after two early goals. At the end of the day, Fiji deserved to win and they won fairly. Our next match against Germany is now crucial, and the pressure is on for us to perform. Fiji gave everyone a surprise, and it’s our turn to do the same.”
In Group D action, FC Dallas youngster Jesse Gonzalez manned the nets as Mexico slipped past a tenacious Uruguay side 2-1 in Dunedin on Wednesday. The CONCACAF champions left it late, as it took a gorgeous injury-time free kick by Kevin Gutierrez to earn the win and keep El Tri in contention for the next phase of the tournament.
Still stinging from a 2-0 loss to Mali in their opening match, El Tri badly needed a positive result, and Gonzalez - making his first start of the tournament - gave fans palpitations early on when he mishit a clearance that fell to Uruguay’s Franco Acosta, only to redeem himself seconds later with an agile parry of Kevin Mendez's wickedly-hit blast.
Hirving Lozano pushed Mexico in front in the 71st minute, dispossessing Mauricio Lemos before scoring the opener. But 12 minutes later, Mathias Suarez stroked home a loose ball following a Uruguay set-piece delivery into the Mexican penalty box to level matters. That set the stage for Gutierrez, as the Querétaro-based youngster curled an unstoppable strike into the top right corner from inside the restraining arc to deliver all three points in memorable fashion.
"It was a very dramatic end to the game. We found it tough out there and so did Uruguay," said Sergio Almaguer, Mexico's coach. "My players' second-half performance was really good, really smart. I'm happy with the result; now we have to look ahead."
Combined with Serbia’s 2-0 defeat of Mali, Mexico’s win sets up a hectic Group D finale on Saturday. All three sides are level on 3 points as Serbia meet El Tri in Dunedin and Mali face Uruguay in Hamilton, though El Tri are presently burdened with a -1 goal differential that could eventually prove costly.
