U-20 World Cup 2013 Results: Scores and Highlights from Day 5

As teams at the U-20 World Cup play their second matches of the tournament, it is not getting any easier to separate the best from the rest.

Day 5 of the prestigious tournament featured plenty of excitement and upsets, although no one in either Group C or Group D was able to pull away from the pack.

The one thing we did see is a number of outstanding individual performances from players who will soon take over the sport. 

Here is a look at the matches that took place on Tuesday with updated tables for each group in action on the day. 

Day 5 Results

Group C	El Salvador 2, Australia 1
	Colombia 1, Turkey 0
Group D	Paraguay 1, Mexico 0
	Greece 0, Mali 0

Group C Standings

Team	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Colombia	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4
Turkey	1	0	1	3	1	+2	3
El Salvador	1	0	1	2	4	-2	3
Australia	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1

Group D Standings

Team	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Paraguay	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4
Greece	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4
Mali	0	2	0	1	1	0	2
Mexico	0	0	2	1	3	-2	0

El Salvador Recovers Nicely Against Australia

It has been a truly terrible start to the U-20 World Cup for the teams representing CONCACAF. The United States had a bad loss to Spain and Mexico has lost its first two contests.

However, El Salvador finally came through with a 2-1 victory over Australia. FOX Soccer Trax noted the significance of the win:

Of course, the team was likely thinking of just itself instead of its region during this match.

Things did not look good originally when Joshua Brillante was able to get Australia on the scoreboard only eight minutes in. Still, the young squad stayed tough and got the equalizer on a Diego Elenilson Galdamez Coca header.

Jose Angel Peña Carballo put El Salvador on top for good just before the half with a goal and strong defense helped the squad hang on for the win.

This was a solid comeback effort for El Salvador after losing 3-0 to Turkey to open the tournament. With the victory, the squad now has a good chance of advancing in the relatively weak Group C.

Australia is still alive in this stage, although it will take a strong effort to defeat the host team in the upcoming match. 

Paraguay Hands Mexico Its Second Loss

Mexico had its chances, but much like the senior team, the U-20 squad struggled to get the ball into the net.

Throughout the first half, the group maintained possession and got really good looks near the goal. However, goalkeeper Diego Morel and the Paraguayan defense kept the match scoreless at halftime.

This changed in the second part of the match, as Paraguay took control. Derlis González had an impressive goal off an assist by Cecilio Dominguez and that was enough in this low-scoring battle.

The South American team displayed great ball movement in the final 45 minutes and proved to be the better squad on the day.

Soccer By Ives' Ives Galarcep even believed the margin of victory could have been more:

With the loss, Mexico remains with zero points in two matches and is on the brink of elimination from this tournament. After coming in as one of the favorites to make a deep run, this is incredibly disappointing.

On the other hand, Paraguay has established itself as a force in this prestigious event.

Turkey Disappoints Home Fans

In arguably the biggest match of Group C, Colombia proved its ability with a 1-0 win over Turkey.

The first half started slow, as neither side was able to get many true chances. It appeared as though both teams were falling apart in the final third, as the defenses had no trouble keeping the match scoreless.

However, it did not take long for Colombia to take control in the second half. In the 51st minute, Juan Fernando Quintero scored a fantastic goal from just outside the box, out of the reach of the opposing keeper.

Jon Holmes of Sky Sports provided a reaction that many had after the goal:

For the rest of the match, Turkey had a hard time even getting close to the goal, as Colombia continued to hold possession and make strong passes.

Although the host squad had a few decent looks in the final 10 minutes, it was unable to break through with the equalizer. While this does not eliminate the club from contention, the loss will certainly hurt going forward.

Meanwhile, Colombia gets a huge three points after only managing a draw against Australia.

Mali and Greece Stay Scoreless

Although there was plenty of action throughout the match, neither Mali nor Greece was able to score a goal in this 0-0 draw.

Mali appeared to be the more aggressive squad from the beginning. Although it was unable to maintain possession for long periods of time, it tried hard to get near the net and had no problem firing shots regardless of where it was on the pitch.

Greece had a more balanced attack, but was unable to get many more scoring chances. The Mali defense came through to keep the match scoreless.

Andreas Bouchalakis did have one easy opportunity to give Greece the lead and the win, but he missed the point-blank shot.

FIFA discusses the offensive struggles from each side:

Mali remains in contention after two matches with two draws, although the Greeks are in even better shape with four points to stay tied on top of Group D.

If either side is able to win its next match, it should be able to advance to the knockout stage of this tournament.

Results and table information courtesy of ESPNFC.com.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest updates in sports.