Uruguay and Israel Clash in Semifinal Showdown at Under-20 World Cup

Uruguay, with a team game and a tactical lucidity that surpasses the brilliance of their figures, and an Israel that will come out to show that they are more than just a surprise, will play one of the semifinals of the Under-20 World Cup in La Plata on Thursday Argentina-2023. This match between the Uruguayans and the Israelis will be played at 12:30 p.m. and can be seen on Caracol Televisión’s HD2 signal, in the best Gol Caracol style, and on www.golcaracol.com.

La Celeste will go out to defend the South American honor before the elimination of its neighbors, Argentina and Brazil, in previous rounds, with the conviction that if the team remains solid, soccer can always give more.

“The group is strong, united and focused” on advancing to the final, said Rodrigo Chagas, prior to the duel against Israel that will be played in La Plata, some 50 kilometers from Buenos Aires.

To get Israel out of the way – who beat South American champion Brazil in the quarterfinals – “you have to have a lot of tactical order, since in these instances you win or lose by details,” analyzed the multifunctional player that Marcelo Broli and that given the casualties that have been emerging in the team, he will probably play on the side on Thursday.

Those led by Marcelo Broli in the group stage thrashed Iraq (4-0), lost to England (2-3) and beat Tunisia (1-0). In the round of 16 they put up a fight and beat Gambia 1-0 and in the quarterfinals they knocked out the United States 2-0, which came into the duel with the seal of favorites.

– Focus on Israel’s weaknesses –

In the semifinals, the Uruguayan team will have to overcome the fatigue accumulated in the tournament and manage a squad decimated by injuries: Matías Abaldo, Andrés Ferrari and Mateo Ponte.

To these casualties is added that of Luciano Rodríguez, suspended.

The Israel players “are going to give their all the same as us, but every team has a weakness and we are going to find” the rival’s weak point, assured Nicolás Siri.

Malaysia-1997 and Turkey-2013 were the two U-20 World Cups in which the Charrúas reached the highest, when they fell in the final against Argentina and France, respectively.

– Nothing to lose –

For Israel everything is adding up. With the victory against Brazil, the team led by Ofirm Haim signed a historic page in its sparse history in World Cup football.

Before going down to the Canarinha, the Israel team went from less to more in the tournament in which they began by losing to Colombia (1-2), drew with Senegal (1-1) and beat Japan (2-1). In the round of 16 they eliminated Uzbekistan (1-0) before giving the note by defeating Brazil in extra time (3-2).

Attacker David Turgeman is the man to watch in this selection.

In addition, one of his players will experience the emotion of the semifinal in a double game by playing it in the land of his great idol, Lionel Messi. That’s center back Stav Lemkin.

“I like Leo Messi, I have a tattoo of his. I got it after he won the World Cup (…) I got the tattoo because I love him,” the footballer who will try to destroy the dreams of Argentine neighbors told the Argentine media.

• Match start time: 12:30 p.m.
• LIVE on Caracol HD2, in the best style of Gol Caracol, and www.golcaracol.com