Brazil’s quest to lift the Fifa Under-20 World Cup trophy for the first time since 2011 remained on course as they saw off the challenge of Tunisia, despite going down to ten men moments before the halfway mark.
Brazil’s top scorer so far at Argentina 2023, Marcos Leonardo (four goals), put his side in front by converting an early penalty kick, electing to shoot straight down the middle, sending Tunisia’s Dries Araoui diving the wrong way.
Marcos Leonardo then turned provider when he dinked a clever pass into space from just outside Tunisia’s penalty area for Brazil captain Andrey Santos to run onto and double their lead.
The match took a twist right before halftime. Brazil defender Robert Renan was shown a red card for pulling Mohamed Dhaoui back as the striker broke through on goal, and referee Halil Umut Meler deemed it a clear denial of a goalscoring opportunity.
Perhaps expectedly, buoyed by Argentinian support in La Plata, Tunisia were on the front foot for most of the second half and had the majority of possession, but Brazil coach Ramon’s side were able to withstand all of the attacking pressure applied by their opponents.
Tunisia thought they had a goal when substitute Raki Aouani showed superb control and finishing, however after an on-field VAR review, the goal was cancelled as Aouani had handled the ball in the process.
Brazil substitute Matheus Martins and Santos both scored on counter-attacks in stoppage time as Tunisia had committed numbers forward. Tunisia defender Mahmoud Ghorbel poked in a scrappy goal late on but it was merely a consolation for the Carthage Eagles.
A quarterfinal against Israel awaits the Brazilians on Saturday 3 June at 2:30pm local time in San Juan.
THE STAT
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After losing their first match of the tournament 3-2 to Italy, Brazil have won three straight games, scoring 13 goals and conceding just one.