U-20: Argentina on the brink of elimination

MENDOZA — Under-20 Argentina’s national team tied Bolivia 2-2 late yesterday to stay on the edge of elimination at the South American Championship, which gives four spots for the World Cup of Turkey.

Lucas Melano, in the 48th minute, and Luciano Vietto, in the 65th, scored for Argentina while Danny Bajarano, in the 11th and Rodrigo Vargas, three minutes before the end of the match through a penalty, netted for Bolivia.

In the early Group A match, Chile reached the six-team second stage after beating Colombia 2-1. It was the third victory in a row for the team coached by Mario Salas.

Cristián Cuevas and Igor Lichnovsky scored for the winners while Juan Quintero pulled one back from a penalty. Chile lead the standings with 9 points from three matches, followed by Colombia and Paraguay with three (both teams have already had a bye) then, Argentina and Bolivia (also played two matches) with one.

Argentina have a bye tomorrow and face Colombia on Thursday. They need a win and also depend on other results in order to reach the difficult objective of advancing.

SUMMER TOURNAMENT. River Plate beat Independiente 2-0 late on Saturday at the José María Minella stadium in Mar del Plata. River coach Ramón Díaz fielded a second-choice team. Striker Rogelio Funes Mori scored both goals in the 41st and 64th minutes.

Independiente also preserved their best players and even coach Américo Gallego stayed in Buenos Aires.

Late yesterday, Boca Juniors faced Racing Club in the same venue in the first match with Carlos Bianchi in charge.

Herald staff with Telam