© AFP
Portugal staged an incredible recovery during a shoot-out to eliminate Argentina and reach the semi-finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. After 120 goalless minutes, the Iberians trailed 3-1 on penalties, meaning they needed convert their last two attempts and hope the South Americans missed theirs just to take it to sudden death. And that is exactly what happened thanks to the reflexes of Mika, who went on to save his third penalty and clinch a 5-4 victory for Portugal.
It was a breathtaking conclusion to what had been a dull evening in Cartagena. It began with Nelson Oliveira having two half-chances with which he failed to please the pro-Portugal crowd in the opening ten minutes. First, he shot two yards wide after racing on to a long ball, and then he turned swiftly inside the box but failed to keep his low drive on target.
Ilidio Vale's side had a much better opportunity on 16 minutes. A long ball split the Argentina defence, and Caetano outsprinted his markers to reach it. The No11 carried it into the area and unleashed a powerful shot, which was heading into the roof of the net until Esteban Andrada acrobatically pushed it over.
Argentina threatened moments later. From a free-kick just outside the box, Erik Lamela curled the ball narrowly over the bar, much to the relief of goalkeeper Mika.
Portugal had the better of the player during the remainder of the period, but Sergio Oliveira, Luis Martins, Danilo and Caetano were all let down by their finishing.
Soon after the restart, Facundo Ferreyra, sliding it at the back post, was just inches away from connecting with a Lamela free-kick. It was to be the No9's last involvement, with Juan Iturbe coming on in his place on the hour.
It was a breathtaking conclusion to what had been a dull evening in Cartagena. It began with Nelson Oliveira having two half-chances with which he failed to please the pro-Portugal crowd in the opening ten minutes. First, he shot two yards wide after racing on to a long ball, and then he turned swiftly inside the box but failed to keep his low drive on target.
Ilidio Vale's side had a much better opportunity on 16 minutes. A long ball split the Argentina defence, and Caetano outsprinted his markers to reach it. The No11 carried it into the area and unleashed a powerful shot, which was heading into the roof of the net until Esteban Andrada acrobatically pushed it over.
Argentina threatened moments later. From a free-kick just outside the box, Erik Lamela curled the ball narrowly over the bar, much to the relief of goalkeeper Mika.
Portugal had the better of the player during the remainder of the period, but Sergio Oliveira, Luis Martins, Danilo and Caetano were all let down by their finishing.
Soon after the restart, Facundo Ferreyra, sliding it at the back post, was just inches away from connecting with a Lamela free-kick. It was to be the No9's last involvement, with Juan Iturbe coming on in his place on the hour.
Almost instantly, the diminutive playmaker had contributed to Mika having two dodgy moments.
Iturbe skipped past an opponent and though his shot from the edge of the box went straight towards the Portugal No1, he fumbled it before it dropped wide for a corner. Mika then flapped at a cross from the Porto player, but got away with conceding a corner.
Andrada was then twice responsible for keeping the deadlock intact, saving superbly from a Sergio Oliveira free-kick before repelling a Nelson Oliveira piledriver.
There was very little action thereafter, with Argentina having the better of the possession but failing to get enough men in their opponents' box. In injury time, though, Nicolas Tagliafico tricked his way past three adversaries and into the Portugal area, but his shot from a mightily tight angle was easily gathered by Mika.
Extra time was largely void of action, with both sides evidently exhausted. And when Danilo and Roderick misses gave Argentina a two-goal cushion in the shoot-out, it appeared the six-time champions were on their away into the last four. Mika nevertheless denied Gonzalez Pires and Ruiz to help take it into sudden death, and after Sergio scored, the Portugal No1 flung himself to his right to repel Tagliafico's effort.
Argentina's quest for a seventh FIFA U-20 World Cup title was over. Portugal's mission for a third will continue on Wednesday against the France-Nigeria victors in Medellin.
Quarter-finals
Portugal - Argentina
0:0 a.e.t. 5:4 PSO
Match | Date | Time | Venue / Stadium | Attendance |
| 46 | 13 August 2011 | 17:00 | Cartagena / Estadio Olímpico Jaime Morón León | 15946 |
Match Officials
Referee Peter O LEARY (NZL) | Assistant Referee 1 Ravinesh KUMAR (FIJ) | |
Fourth Official KIM Dong Jin (KOR) | Assistant Referee 2 Jackson NAMO (SOL) | |
Match Commissioner Marco Antonio TEIXEIRA (BRA) | Fifth Official LEE Jungmin (KOR) |
Goals scored
Portugal
- MIKA (GK)
- PELE
- NUNO REIS (C)
- RODERICK
- JULIO ALVES (-69')
- NELSON OLIVEIRA
- CEDRIC [Y]
- CAETANO [Y] (-94')
- LUIS MARTINS [Y] (-122')
- DANILO
- SERGIO OLIVEIRA
Line-up
- TIAGO MAIA (GK)
- LUIS RIBEIRO (GK)
- TIAGO FERREIRA (+122')
- AMIDO BALDE
- SANA [Y] (+69')
- ALEX [N]
- SERGINHO
- RICARDO DIAS
- MARIO RUI [N]
- RAFAEL LOPES (+94')
Substitute(s)
Coach
Ilidio VALE (POR)Argentina
- Esteban ANDRADA (GK)
- Nicolas TAGLIAFICO [Y]
- Hugo NERVO (C) [Y]
- Leonel GALEANO
- Matias LABA [Y]
- Roberto PEREYRA (-98')
- Facundo FERREYRA (-60')
- Erik LAMELA
- Rodrigo BATTAGLIA [Y]
- Leandro GONZALEZ PIREZ
- Carlos LUQUE [Y] (-81')
Line-up
- Rodrigo REY (GK)
- Damian MARTINEZ (GK)
- German PEZZELLA
- Adrian CIRIGLIANO
- Juan ITURBE [Y] (+60')
- Lucas KRUSPZKY
- Adrian MARTINEZ [N]
- Alan RUIZ [Y] (+81')
- Lucas VILLAFANEZ
- Agustin VULETICH [Y] (+98')
Substitute(s)
Coach
Walter PERAZZO (ARG)- Leandro GONZALEZ PIREZ (ARG) 31'
- , NELSON OLIVEIRA (POR) 50'
- , Carlos LUQUE (ARG) 65'
- , SANA (POR) 88'
- , SERGIO OLIVEIRA (POR) 108'
- , Rodrigo BATTAGLIA (ARG) 9'
Cautions
Expulsions
- Second Half: 3'
- First Extra Time: 1'
- Second Extra Time: 1'
Additional time
Penalty Shoot-out
- NUNO REIS 4Goal
- DANILO 15Saved
- RODERICK 5Saved
- RAFAEL LOPES 21Goal
- NELSON OLIVEIRA 7Goal
- TIAGO FERREIRA 3Goal
- SERGIO OLIVEIRA 17Goal
- Erik LAMELA 10Goal
- Juan ITURBE 11Goal
- Hugo NERVO 4Goal
- Leandro GONZALEZ PIREZ 18Post
- Alan RUIZ 15Saved
- Agustin VULETICH 19Goal
- Nicolas TAGLIAFICO 3Saved
| Portugal (POR) | Statistics | Argentina (ARG) |
| 19 | Shots | 19 |
| 8 | Shots on goal | 6 |
| 12 | Fouls Committed | 14 |
| 6 | Corner kicks | 10 |
| 2 | Direct Free Kicks to Goal | 4 |
| 0 | Indirect Free Kicks to Goal | 0 |
| 0 / 0 | Penalty Kicks | 0 / 0 |
| 4 | Offsides | 0 |
| 0 | Own Goals | 0 |
| 3 | Cautions | 3 |
| 0 | Expulsions due to Second Caution | 0 |
| 0 | Direct Expulsions | 0 |
| 45% | Possession (%) | 55% |
| 35 | Actual playing time | 44 |
| a.e.t.: | After extra time | (C): | Captain | PSO: | Penalty Shoot-out |
| GK: | Goalkeeper | N: | Not eligible to play | I: | Injured |
| Y: | Yellow cards | Pos: | Positions | A: | Absent |
Portugal-Argentina: Quotes
Ilidio Vale, Portugal coach
"I feel very good and happy that we have reached the semi-finals. It was a very close game, even though Portugal were more organised than Argentina. It was just fair that we won. We played better than Argentina. Big thanks to the fans here in Cartagena. Their support was fantastic and also a factor why we have won this game. We got scared first, because we lost two penalties to Argentina. We hope that we can continue like this, and win the semi-final and move on to the final. We can win anything by playing penalties, because we have a great goalkeeper. We always think positive. There are no big stars in my team, but my players make a great team. All the victories are different from each other, but this one has been the most satisfactory so far. My team has worked hard, listened to me and to one another. It’s important that I have the support of my team, as it’s not only my work, but the work of all of my staff."
Walter Perazzo, Argentina coach
"We had two equal teams today. Both were tired, and the heat affected both of us. It was a very close game, which ultimately was decided by penalties. I feel very sorry, as we had all the hope to go through to the semi-finals. We thought we would win as Portugal missed 2 penalties, but then in the end, it went against us. We have to rest now, think about the game and how can we improve for the future."
"I feel very good and happy that we have reached the semi-finals. It was a very close game, even though Portugal were more organised than Argentina. It was just fair that we won. We played better than Argentina. Big thanks to the fans here in Cartagena. Their support was fantastic and also a factor why we have won this game. We got scared first, because we lost two penalties to Argentina. We hope that we can continue like this, and win the semi-final and move on to the final. We can win anything by playing penalties, because we have a great goalkeeper. We always think positive. There are no big stars in my team, but my players make a great team. All the victories are different from each other, but this one has been the most satisfactory so far. My team has worked hard, listened to me and to one another. It’s important that I have the support of my team, as it’s not only my work, but the work of all of my staff."
Walter Perazzo, Argentina coach
"We had two equal teams today. Both were tired, and the heat affected both of us. It was a very close game, which ultimately was decided by penalties. I feel very sorry, as we had all the hope to go through to the semi-finals. We thought we would win as Portugal missed 2 penalties, but then in the end, it went against us. We have to rest now, think about the game and how can we improve for the future."
