WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) Goalkeepers became heroes as the United States beat Colombia 1-0 and Senegal beat Ukraine 3-1 on penalties in a dramatic opening to the knockout rounds of the Under-20 World Cup on Wednesday.
Ibrahima Sy saved three penalties as Senegal, in their first-ever appearance at the U20s, beat Ukraine in a penalty shootout after they were 1-1 at the end of extra time.
Earlier, Zack Steffen saved an 81st-minute penalty as the U.S. held on to beat Colombia 1-0 and reach the quarterfinals for the first time in eight years.
Rubio Rubin scored the only goal in the 58th, but the lead came under intense threat when Kelly Perryn-Acosta tangled with Rodin Quinones to concede a late penalty. Perryn-Acosta also collected a second yellow card, which left the U.S. to face the last minutes of the match with 10 men.
Jarlan Barrera's penalty kick was at least likely to send the match into extra time, but his low shot was soft, and Steffen dived to his right to parry the ball away.
On Sunday, the U.S. will face Serbia, which came from behind to wrest a quarterfinal place from underdog Hungary.
Also, Mali stunned Ghana 3-0, and will face either Nigeria or Germany in the quarters.
Bence Mervo put underdog Hungary ahead with his fifth goal of the tournament in the 57th but Serbia, reduced to 10 men, equalized though Ivan Saponjic in stoppage time, and took the round-of-16 match with a heart-breaking own goal by Attila Talaber in the 118th minute.
Talaber was inconsolable when the final whistle sounded.
''We have 21 lions who play football with their hearts and give absolutely everything on the pitch. We always had faith and kept believing,'' Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic said.
Mali defied all pre-match predictions when it outclassed Ghana in cold, wet and windy conditions in Wellington. It was the first time Ghana, the 2009 champion, fell before the quarterfinals.
Mali played with cool-headed efficiency, working the ball forward in carefully structured attack, while Ghana had only sporadic shots.
''We were extremely well prepared to face Ghana, and did exactly what we set out to do,'' Mali coach Fanyeri Diarra said. ''My team kept things very compact, and we delivered a great performance.''
