Argentine letdown

Colombia wins 2-1 to claim third place at World Youth Championship

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Erwin Carrillo and Jaime Castrillon scored either side of halftime to give Colombia a 2-1 win over Argentina in Friday's bronze medal game at the World Youth Championship.

The result in front of a near-capacity crowd at Abu Dhabi's 50,000-plus seat Sheik Zayed stadium was Colombia's best-ever at under-20 level following two previous eighth-place finishes, but was a major disappointment for pre-tournament favorite Argentina, the reigning champion and four-time winner.

"We expected to succeed during the tournament and we saw that the team got stronger and stronger as the championship progressed," Colombian coach Reinaldo Rueda said of his team, which was the first Colombian side to compete at the biennial tournament since 1993. "We are very happy about this result."

Carrillo and Harrison Otalvaro brought about their side's first goal in the 16th minute following a poor clearance from Argentine 'keeper Gustavo Eberto. Otalvaro gained possession of a loose ball about 35 yards (meters) from the Argentine goal and his searching pass found striker Carrillo alone in the goal area. Sensing the goalkeeper was off his line, Carrillo headed the ball over Eberto, whose desperate dive at the ball left him swiping at thin air.

Argentine defender Osmar Ferreya equalized in first-half injury time after curling a superb left-footed 25-yard (meter) free kick over the Colombian wall and into the top right-hand corner of the net.

Colombia's Abel Aguilar came close to scoring in the 41st minute after chipping the ball with the side of his foot just over the Argentine goal after latching onto a sharp Castrillon pass following a Colombian corner kick.

The second-half got off to lightning-paced start, with both sides coming close to scoring early on, particularly Argentina, which had Carrusca blast the ball over the net from close range after 'keeper Hector Landazuri fumbled striker German Herrera's header from a tight angle.

But it was Colombia which went ahead in the 62nd minute through Castrillon, who scored after teammate Edixon Perea's shot taken seconds earlier deflected off opponent Gonzalo Rodriguez's arm and into Castrillon's path.

Argentina stepped up its game in the final half hour and threatened the Colombian goal repeatedly. Ferreya, Argentina's best player, was inches away from making it 2-2 when his powerful 40 yard (meter) free kick hit directly on the top right hand corner of the Colombian goal.

Teammate Leandro Fernandez had his 84th minute header from a corner kick brilliantly saved by Landazuri, whose brilliant performance in goal was crucial to his side's win.

"We played well during the tournament, even in the past two games we lost, but we are a little bit disappointed about what happened but I think the future of Argentinian football is still very strong," Argentine coach Hugo Tocalli said.

Argentina made three changes to its starting lineup that lost 1-0 to Brazil in the semifinal Monday, while Colombia brought two new players into its side that was defeated 1-0 by Spain.

Lineups:

Argentina: Gustavo Eberto, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Osmar Ferreyra, Leandro Fernandez, Pablo Zabaleta, Marcelo Carrusca (Walter Montillo, 56th), German Herrera (Franco Cangele, 55th), Hugo Colace (Jose Sosa, 79th), Fernando Cavenaghi, Walter Garcia, Cardozo.

Colombia: Hector Landazuri, Jose De La Cuesta, Pablo Pachon, Edixon Perea (Fredy Guarin, 77th) Erwin Carrillo, Harrison Otalvaro (Andres Gonzales, 87th ), Cesar Fawcett (Javier Arizala, 57th), Abel Aguilar, Yulian Anchico, Jamie Castrillon, Avimiled Rivas.