In the passionate World Youth Cup stage, Argentina staged a summit match between Uruguay U20 and Italy U20. It's hard to tell the difference between the two, but Uruguay's solid defense has resulted in four consecutive shutouts. In this crucial final, any mistake by either side could be regrettable, so both players will be treading on thin ice, and the low 2.5-goal threshold seems to be a safe choice. (Match kicks off at 5am on Monday)
The matchup was certainly a battle between a sharp attack and an impenetrable defense. Although Italy finished in the quarterfinals of the previous two editions of the tournament, this year they made it to the finals and abandoned their traditional conservative tactics, winning five and losing one of their six matches, scoring a whopping 13 goals, with center midfielder Kasady leading the scoring charts with seven goals. However, this aggressive strategy has paid off, but it has also exposed holes in the defense, and despite keeping a clean sheet against the Dominican Republic, they will not dare to take any chances against their strongest rivals this time around.
Uruguay also performed well with five wins and one loss in six matches, and they know the principle of "offense wins hearts and minds, and defense wins championships". Except for a 2-3 defeat against England in the second round of the group stage, Uruguay has not conceded a goal in the other five matches, and the last four matches have been shutouts, making the defense impregnable. In addition to the fast counterattack led by Duarte, so that the opponent can not be defended, the Italian team naturally dare not be underestimated.
Looking back, three of the last four World Youth Cup finals have seen no more than two goals scored, including a 120-minute thriller between Uruguay and France in 2013, in which both sides failed to score, and Uruguay ultimately came to grief in the penalty shootout. Both sides are expected to play a solid game in this matchup, and a handicap of less than 2.5 goals is expected to be the winner.
Israel and South Korea shake hands at halftime
