Chelsea youngster takes Italy to U20 World Cup final

Argentina midfielder Cesare Casadei opened the scoring, helping Italy beat South Korea 2-1 in the semi-finals to reach the 2023 U20 World Cup final against Uruguay.

In the semi-final match on the evening of June 8, Buenos Aires time, Italy had a dream start when they took the lead from the 14th minute. From an unsuccessful attempt to escape the opponent's pressing, Daniele Ghilardi crossed for Casadei to finish with one touch into the top corner, leaving goalkeeper Kim Joonhong unable to reach the ball.

Italian players ran to celebrate with Casadei who was jumping with excitement after Italy scored the opening goal in the 2-1 win over South Korea on the evening of June 8. Photo: AFP

This was Casadei's seventh goal in six games, helping him take sole lead in the race for the tournament's top scorer. The midfielder born in 2003 is also a strong candidate for the title of best player of the tournament. Casadei is on the payroll of Chelsea, but was loaned to First Division team Reading last season.

But against South Korea, considered the "dark horse" of the tournament, Italy's lead only lasted 10 minutes. In a situation where the ball was bobbing around in the Italian penalty area, Mattia Zanotti brought down Bae Junho from behind. Initially, the referee waved his hand and signaled for the South Korean midfielder to stand up. But after reviewing the VAR, he awarded the Asian team a penalty. On the 11m mark, Lee Seung Won shot to the top left corner. Goalkeeper Sebastiano Desplanches guessed the right direction but could not reach it.

Italy struggled after the equaliser. They created a number of scoring chances but rarely got the ball into the box. Samuel Giovane shielded the ball well in front of the box but his shot went wide. South Korea had a good chance on the counter-attack late in the first half but Kim Yonghak fired over the bar.

Despite having to play extra time in the quarter-finals, South Korea showed their strength in the second half. They could have taken the lead had Desplanches not made a brilliant save from Lee Seung Won's low shot. Four minutes before the end of the second half, Italy's character showed. Substitute midfielder Simone Pafundi scored a superb free-kick from outside the box to give the Europeans a 2-1 win.

In the other semi-final, the only goal in the 61st minute by striker Anderson Duarte helped Uruguay defeat Israel 1-0. Thus, despite many surprises, the 2023 U20 World Cup final still witnessed a competition between the two leading football nations in the world - Europe and South America. On the evening of June 11, Uruguay and Italy will play the final at Unico Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in La Plata, Buenos Aires.

Vinh San

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/sao-tre-chelsea-dua-italy-vao-chung-ket-u20-world-cup-4615377.html