A berth in the final is at stake when South American neighbours Argentina and Chile clash in Thursday's final-four matchup in Toronto at the FIFA U-20 World Cup (CBC, 7:30 p.m. ET).
The semifinal contest, which will also be streamed live on CBCSports.ca, pits two nations who followed a similar path to get to this point.
Both teams have scored 11 goals and recorded four wins and one draw at the tournament, with the Chilean defence having yet to concede a goal — Argentina has only given up one goal.
Chilean goalkeeper Cristopher Toselli has gone 480 consecutive minutes — eight hours — without being beaten. He needs to go just five more minutes to better the tournament record set by Brazil's Claudio Taffarel, who went 484 minutes without giving up a goal at the 1985 competition in the Soviet Union.
Argentina will have its hands full"Historically, Chile is vulnerable [in defence] but in this tournament they've got stronger as it's gone on," CBC Sports soccer commentator Bob Lenarduzzi said.
Argentina, the reigning champion and five-time winner of this tournament, is the favourite but its will have its hands full with a Chile side that is making its first semifinal appearance since 1987 when it hosted the competition.
Argentina and Chile have never played each other at a FIFA U-20 World Cup but they have faced off three times in South American qualifying, with the Argentines winning once and the other two games ending in draws.
"The rivalry has always been there, and they always beat us," Chilean midfielder Mathias Vidangossy told CBC Sports. "We have always lost against them, but we hope this game is going to be different, that we can change history and make a mark on the history of our country."
Even though Argentina has won the U-20 World Cup five times, Chilean coach Jose Sulantay insists his team is not intimidated by their South American neighbours.
"We may not have won titles that Argentina has obtained, but we don't look up at Argentina. Argentina is at our level," Sulantay said.
'We're not going to underestimate Chile'Chile is coming off an impressive 4-0 win over Nigeria in the quarter-finals, a game that saw the South Americans explode for four goals in extra time.
"We're not going to underestimate Chile, who have performed very well at this tournament. But I don't think they're going to be as attack-minded against us as they were against Nigeria," said Argentine forward Sergio Aguero, who leads the tournament in scoring with five goals.
"They'll be a bit more cautious. Even so, I'm not concerned because I've got faith in our ability and attacking prowess."
Argentina will be without defender Damian Escudero because of a muscular injury, but forward Mauro Zarate has overcome a knee problem and could see action.
Arturo Vidal returns for Chile after a one-game suspension but fellow defender Christian Sepulveda will miss out after picking up two yellow cards. Chile forward Alexis Sanchez is also questionable because of a shoulder injury.
Thursday's winner will take on the Czech Republic in Sunday's final in Toronto (CBC, 2:30 p.m. ET). The loser faces Austria in Sunday's third-place game (CBC, 12:00 p.m. ET).
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Contact Us About Us HomeTuesday, January 6th, 2009