Italy to face Uruguay in Under-20 World Cup final

Italy and Uruguay will each be bidding for a first Under-20 World Cup title when the countries meet in the final on Sunday.
Italy knocked out South Korea with a 2-1 win in the semifinals Thursday after Uruguay beat Israel 1-0. Both matches took place Único Diego Armando Maradona Stadium at La Plata, which will also host the final and the playoff for third place.
Uruguay reached tournament final in 1997 and 2013, losing the championship matches to Argentina and France on those occasions, Italy will play the decider for the first time.
The evening encounter between Italy and South Korea offered more than 20,000 spectators one of the best matches of the tournament, with goalkeepers Sebastiano Desplanches and Kim Joon-hong working hard from start to finish.
Italy opened the scoring in the 14th minute via the player of the tournament so far. Cesare Casadei shot from the edge of the box despite being crowded by three South Koreans to put the ball in the back of the net for the seventh time in the U-20 World Cup.
South Korea equalized with Lee Seung-won's shot from the spot in the 23rd after a video reviewed decision.
Both teams squandered opportunities to get ahead, including one for Italy that required goal line review. The deadlock was broken in the 86th, when substitute Simone Pafundi scored from a free kick.
The Italian lineup has been resurgent in the knockout rounds with wins over England and Colombia after placing third in its group.
Target man Anderson Duarte scored Uruguay's only goal of the first semifinal in the 61st minute from close range, one of the few opportunities either team had during the match.
Israel goalkeeper Tomer Zarfati deflected a shot by Alan Matturro and it hit his left post, but Duarte was quicker than the Israeli defenders to put the ball in the back of the net.
To reach the final, Uruguay finished its group in second place, and eliminated Gambia and the United States.
Israel will play South Korea in the third place Sunday, almost going the distance after an eventual first trip to the Under-20 World Cup.
Protests in Muslim-majority Indonesia against hosting the Israel team forced FIFA into a very late switch of venues.
Argentina stepped in late to host the tournament.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Freeland introduces bill to remove GST off rental developments, amend competition law
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland introduced legislation this morning that would remove GST charges from new rental developments and update the country's competition law.
In a first, RNA is recovered from extinct Tasmanian tiger
Researchers said on Tuesday they have recovered RNA from the desiccated skin and muscle of a Tasmanian tiger stored since 1891 at a museum in Stockholm.
India suspends visa services in Canada and rift widens between countries
India's visa processing centre in Canada suspended services Thursday as a rift widened between the countries after Canada's leader said India may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen.
ICC war crimes tribunal hobbles on despite hacking
The Netherlands-based International Criminal Court was operating on Thursday with disruptions to email, streaming and document-sharing after a hacking incident earlier in the week, sources and lawyers at the tribunal said.
First Bob Ross TV painting, completed in a half an hour, goes on sale for nearly US$10 million
A Minneapolis gallery is asking US$10 million for 'A Walk in the Woods,' the first of more than 400 paintings that Bob Ross produced on-air for his TV series 'The Joy of Painting.'
From Centre Ice Conservatives to Canadian Future, a new federal party takes shape
The interim leader of Canada's newest federal party says he wants it to be an option for people who are tired of both the governing Liberals and the "rage farming" coming from the Conservatives.
Cutting obituary for B.C. man thanks karma for 'doing what she does best'
Few obituaries begin with the words, "I am pleased to announce" – but Amanda Denis believes in blunt honesty.
Rupert Murdoch, the creator of Fox News, is stepping down as head of News Corp. and Fox Corp.
Rupert Murdoch has stepped down as the chairman of Fox Corp and News Corp, ending a more than seven-decade career during which he created a media empire spanning from Australia to the United States.
Zelenskyy makes his case at the U.S. Capitol for more war aid as Republican support softens
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned to Washington on Thursday for a whirlwind one-day visit, this time to face the Republicans now questioning the flow of American dollars that for 19 months has helped keep his troops in the fight against Russian forces.