Poland and Portugal punished in Canada

One day after three European sides reached the FIFA U-20 World Cup quarter-finals, Poland and nine-man Portugal lost to holders Argentina and Chile respectively as the Round of 16 concluded in Canada.

Mixed emotions
The only goal of Portugal's tempestuous tie against Chile at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton arrived seconds before the half-time whistle, Arturo Vidal volleying in from close range. The Bayer 04 Leverkusen defender, however, will miss the last-eight tie against Nigeria - 2-1 winners against fellow African side Zambia - having collected a second yellow card in added time at the end of the game by which time Portugal pair Zequinha and Mano had already been dismissed.

'Afraid of the ball'
"Our worst moments were in the first half," said Portugal coach José Couceiro. "We were afraid of the ball and couldn't put two or three passes together. We didn't press and we let Chile play and that was what we had tried to address over the last few days in training. To make things worse we couldn't attack and we conceded a set-piece goal in the 45th minute. In the second half we started playing with more confidence and pressing. We attacked without fear, evened up the game a bit and could have scored."

Agüero excels
Poland, meanwhile, struck first against Argentina in Toronto as striker Dawid Janczyk took advantage of some static defending from the holders to give his side a 33rd-minute lead with a powerful shot. Poland's joy proved short-lived, however, as Angél Di María levelled in the 40th minute and Club Atlético de Madrid starlet Sergio Agüero put Argentina in front with a stunning strike less than a minute into the second period. Agüero wrapped matters up with his fifth goal of the finals – taking him level with Spain's Adrián López at the top of the scoring charts – four minutes from time, pouncing on a loose ball to steer in a clinching third.

'Great quality'
Argentina will play Mexico – 3-0 winners against Congo with FC Barcelona's Giovanni Dos Santos opening the scoring with his third goal of the tournament – in the quarter-finals, but for Michal Globisz there was the consolation of a great team performance. "Unfortunately we lost the game, but there's no shame in it as Argentina are a great team," said the Poland coach. "Aguero and [Maximiliano] Moralez are very difficult to play against, because they have great quality. We did the best we could but we were lacking in certain areas. In the first half we played very well, but in the second we lost our fitness a bit and control of the game. Argentina are a great team and I hope they go far."