England and Italy advance to U20 World Cup semifinals

The English held to beat Mexico 1-0 at Cheonan Stadium while Italy rallied to defeat Zambia 3-2 in extra time in Suwon. England and Italy will now meet in the semifinals on Thursday.

Solanke, who recently left Chelsea to join Premier League rival Liverpool on a free transfer, received the ball from Lewis Cook just inside the area and shot past Abraham Romero in the 47th minute.

England and Italy both finished their matches with 10 men and both advanced to the semifinals of the Under-20 World Cup on Monday.

The English held to beat Mexico 1-0 at Cheonan Stadium while Italy rallied to defeat Zambia 3-2 in extra time in Suwon. England and Italy will now meet in the semifinals on Thursday.

Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke scored the only goal for England, which was wearing armbands for the second time in the tournament following Saturday’s attack in London.

Solanke, who recently left Chelsea to join Premier League rival Liverpool on a free transfer, received the ball from Lewis Cook just inside the area and shot past Abraham Romero in the 47th minute.

Joshua Onomah picked up his second yellow card in the 72nd minute, forcing England to finish the match with 10 men.

Earlier, Luca Vido headed in the winning goal for Italy in the 111th minute.

Italy played a man down for much of the match after Guiseppe Pezzella was sent off in the first half. Still, the Italians twice came from behind.

Patson Daka scored from inside the area to give Zambia the lead in the fourth minute, but Riccardo Orsolini equalized in the 50th. Zambia again went ahead in the 84th, getting a goal from Fashion Sakala, but Federico Dimarco curled home a free kick in the 88th to force extra time.

Pezzella was ejected for bringing down Edward Chilufya on the edge of the area.

Venezuela and Uruguay have also reached the semifinals and play Thursday. The final is set for June 11 in Suwon.