An outstanding goal from Uruguay substitute Tabare Viudez in the 84th minute condemned England to a 1-0 defeat in Ismailia. The result continues the Three Lions' miserable run in the FIFA U-20 World Cup to seven matches without a goal and eight matches without a win.
From the outset, it was clear that this was a meeting between two of the best organised teams in the competition. England coach Brian Eastick and his Uruguayan counterpart Diego Aguirre had obviously done their homework on each other's teams before the game, which resulted in a first half of few chances.
A set piece seemed the likeliest route to a goal and as early as the third minute, Jonathan Urretaviscaya's corner was headed over the bar by Sebastian Coates. At the other end, a well-worked corner for England was turned towards goal by the outstretched boot of Liverpool defender Martin Kelly, but his effort crept narrowly wide. Uruguay's only shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes came from their captain Nicolas Lodeiro, whose snapshot forced Elliott Parish into a scrambling save.
The opening to the second half was extremely low key and Aguirre made a double substitution on the hour, bringing on Abel Hernandez and Viudez in order to inject some extra impetus into the proceedings. The move almost paid off seven minutes later when Viudez fired a goalbound effort from close range, which Kelly somehow turned away for a corner.
Uruguay's other substitute, Hernandez spurned a golden opportunity midway through the second half when one-on-one with Parish. In acres of space, and with just the keeper to beat, the leading scorer in the CONMEBOL qualifiers fired straight into his arms. Worse was to come for the South Americans, however, when Hernandez slipped through to Lodeiro, who fired wide from the edge of the six-yard box in another one-on-one situation.
Viudez made amends for his earlier miss six minutes from time when he connected with Urretaviscaya's cross with a stunning scissor-kick. Although he was given plenty of space by the England back four, the excellence of its execution makes it an early contender for the goal of the tournament
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