Host nation Colombia became the first team to book its place in the knockout stages of the Under 20 World Cup by beating Mali 2-0 Tuesday. Colombia has two convincing wins in its two games and even with one group game to go, it is guaranteed of finishing either in the top two in Group A or being among the best of the third-place teams. The host nation's form also signalled it was a legitimate contender for the title along with teams such as Spain, Brazil, Nigeria and six-time champion Argentina. In other games Tuesday, France beat South Korea 3-1, Portugal defeated Cameroon 1-0 and Uruguay drew 1-1 with New Zealand. Jose Valencia scored for Colombia in the 23rd and James Rodriguez added another in the 90th, giving the South Americans six points in two matches following a 4-1 opening game victory over France. The last set of games in Group A will be Friday when Colombia takes on South Korea at Bogota and Mali faces France in Cali. Colombia has six points, France and South Korea have three and Mali nil. The top two teams in each of the six groups advance to the knockout stage and are joined by the top four third-place teams. Earlier Tuesday, France beat South Korea 3-1 in Bogota thanks to late goals by Gueida Fofana and Alexandre Lacazette. Fofana scored in the 81st to break a 1-1 deadlock and Lacazette closed out the scoring in stoppage time. Gilles Sunu had given France the lead in the 27th before Kim Young-uk equalized in the 59th with a free kick. In Group B, striker Nelson Oliveira scored in the 19th minute to give Portugal a 1-0 victory over Cameroon. Portugal has four points, two more than Uruguay and New Zealand. Cameroon is last in the group with one point but retains a chance to advance to the next round. Cameroon played a man down from the 71st after defender Ghislain Mvom was red carded. Earlier, Uruguay outplayed New Zealand from the start but was held 1-1. Andrew Bevin took advantage of one of New Zealand's only chance to score with a header in the 57th, but Adrian Nicolas Luna equalized for the Uruguayans in the 74th with a right-footed shot into the far corner after a well-crafted attack. Uruguay had 58 percent of the possession and outshot New Zealand 25-8 at the Pascual Guerrero stadium, but New Zealand goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic made several key saves. Uruguay will finish group play against Cameroon, while New Zealand will face Portugal.
