WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Rubio Rubin scored early in the second half, Zack Steffen saved an 81st-minute penalty kick, and the United States beat Colombia 1-0 Wednesday night to reach the Under-20 World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2007.
The United States plays Serbia on Sunday in Auckland, New Zealand, and the winner advances to a semifinal against Germany, Nigeria or Mali.
Colombia outshot the Americans 24-8 and had 60 percent possession, but Rubin, who plays for Utrecht and made his full national team debut in November, put the U.S. ahead in the 58th minute with his second goal of the tournament.
Steffen’s goal kick went three-quarters of the field and was headed high into the air by Colombia’s Davinson Sanchez. American captain Emerson Hyndman out-jumped a Colombia player for the rebound and headed the ball to Paul Arriola at the top of the arc. Arriola’s shot was blocked by the right arm of Colombia’s Juan Quintero, and Rubin ran onto the ball and tucked it under the crossbar with a right-footed shot from about 10 yards.
In the 81st minute, Kelly Perryn-Acosta, already suspended for the next round after getting his second yellow card of the tournament in the first half, was called for a penalty when he pulled down Rodin Quinones with both arms near the goal line. Acosta earned another yellow for the foul and was ejected.
Before a crowd of just 6,062, Jarlan Barrera took his time before aiming his spot kick at the bottom left corner. There was little power in the shot, and Steffen, who guessed its target correctly, threw himself to his right and batted the ball away with his right arm. The rebound was cleared over the end line by Arriota.
“Our goalkeeper held on to our win against a dominant Colombian side,” U.S. coach Tab Ramos said. “Both teams could have won it, and our opponents pushed us all the way to the final whistle. They never gave up but we did everything in our power to stop them.”
Los Angeles Galaxy forward Bradford Jamieson IV landed hard on his right side after going over the leg of Quintero during a challenge and left the field on a stretcher in the 11th minute. The U.S. Soccer Federation said he was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
The Americans already were without Maki Tall, who broke the big toe on his left foot during the opening win over Myanmar on May 30.
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