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Mariana Villa/Photosport
Jackson Manuel, Adam Supyk and Finn Linder of New Zealand sing the national anthem before an Under-20 World Cup game against Argentina.
Darren Bazeley’s New Zealand team face a daunting clash with unbeaten United States in the Fifa Under-20 men’s World Cup playoffs.
The Kiwis will play the Americans at 5.30am Wednesday (NZ time) in the round of 16 in Mendoza, Argentina.
New Zealand were third in Group A but qualified as one of the four highest ranked third place finishers.
The United States are yet to concede a goal after topping Group B with wins over Ecuador (1-0), Fiji (3-0) and Slovakia (2-0).
Most of the United States squad are from Major League Soccer clubs, but a few play for reserve teams for clubs in Europe’s major leagues, including forwards Kevin Paredes (Vfl Wolfsburg, Germany) and Jonathan Gomez (Real Sociedad, Spain) and goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina (Chelsea, England).
The Americans haven’t been free scoring, netting just three goals against Fiji, who lost 4-0 to Slovakia and 9-0 to Ecuador.
New Zealand also beat Fiji 3-0 at the four national PSSI Invitational tournament last February.
The New Zealanders scored three goals but conceded seven – five against Argentina – in pool play.
In other round of 16 games, Uzbekistan – who beat New Zealand to second place in Group A – will meet Israel, Colombia will play Slovakia, England will clash with Italy, Argentina will host Nigeria and Gambia will oppose Uruguay and Brazil will tackle Tunisia.
Kiwi ref in drama
SKY SPORT
New Zealand referee Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh awarded a penalty to England after VAR check but Iraqi keeper makes save.
New Zealand referee Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh was centre-stage in England’s final Group D match before 12,122 fans in La Plata.
Late in the first half, Kawana-Waugh was advised to consult the pitchside monitor by VAR officials after a penalty box collision between an Iraqi defender and an England attacker.
The Kiwi match official detected a foul and pointed to the penalty spot.
But Iraq keeper Hussein Hasan made a good save from England’s Manchester City forward Liam Delap
Iraq escaped with a 0-0 draw but England still topped the group and earned a playoff date with Italy.
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