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Italy ousted England at the Under-20 World Cup after a late penalty saw them win 2-1 in their last-16 tie.

First-half goals from Tommaso Baldanzi and Alfie Devine — whom The Athletic is tracking as part of the series My Football Journey: The Road to 2026 — meant the sides spent much of the game level at La Plata Stadium in Argentina.

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Devine had cancelled out Baldanzi’s eighth-minute opener just moments after hitting the crossbar, meeting Dane Scarlett’s cross with the inside of his right boot.

But Jarell Quansah was punished for handball after attempting to block a shot six minutes from time and after a lengthy VAR review, which saw referee Ramon Abatti head to the pitchside monitor, Italy captain Cesare Casadei dispatched a decisive spot-kick.

England, who won the tournament at their last appearance in 2017, were unable to find another leveller during 11 minutes of injury time and Italy will meet Colombia in the quarter-finals in San Juan on Saturday.

Colombia beat Slovakia 5-1 — with three goals scored in a five-minute flurry.

Oscar Cortes opened and finished the scoring for his team, striking first in the 48th minute, before Yaser Asprilla made it 2-0 two minutes later and Tomas Angel added a third in the 52nd minute.

Angel got his second goal of the match in the 64th minute, and though Timotej Jambor scored a late consolation, Cortes had the final word in added time.

Hosts Argentina were knocked out after a 2-0 defeat to Nigeria.

Nigeria progressed from the group stage as one of the best losers, while the tournament favourites had advanced with maximum points, but second-half goals from Ibrahim Muhammad and Rilwanu Haliru Sarki secured a shock win.

The result ended a run of 10 straight U20 World Cup victories for Argentina on home turf. Nigeria will play the winner of Sunday’s tie between Ecuador and South Korea in the fourth quarter-final.

Meanwhile, Brazil swept aside Tunisia 4-1 despite being a player down for the second half

Marcos Leonardo opened the scoring for Brazil in the 11th minute from the spot, with Andrey Santos adding a second from close range just after the half-hour mark.

Defender Robert Renan was sent off shortly before the break, but Brazil scored twice in injury time through Matheus Martins and Santos, with Mahmoud Ghorbel netting a lone reply.

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Brazil face Israel — who beat Uzbekistan with a 97th-minute winner — in the last eight.

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Devine stars as England reach U20 World Cup knockout stage

(Photo: Getty Images)

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