England suffered a controversial end to their time at the U20 World Cup on Wednesday, with a harsh VAR call against Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah.
After cruising through the group stage with two wins and a draw, England set up a last-16 tie against Italy, which took place on Wednesday night.
Quansah made his fourth consecutive start at the tournament, with manager Ian Foster also starting a midfielder on Liverpool’s radar, Alex Scott.
It was a rough start for the Young Lions, though, as Italy produced a stunning opener, with Empoli midfielder Tommaso Baldanzi touching home first time from a Giuseppe Ambrosino trivela assist.
England’s equaliser was similarly impressive, Tottenham‘s Alfie Devine pulling off a first-time finish of his own from Dane Scarlett’s cross.
Both sides had chances to go in front after the break, including a header from Quansah, but a moment of controversy decided the tie.
It came with a hopeful effort fired at England’s goal, and with Quansah turning away to block it, the ball struck the arm by his side.
A lengthy VAR review ended with referee Ramon Abatti consulting the pitchside monitor, eventually awarding Italy a penalty and booking the Liverpool defender.
Cesare Casadei, top scorer at the tournament so far, despatched the penalty and England bowed out with a 2-1 defeat in Argentina.
It was a highly controversial call given Quansah’s arm did not appear to be in an unnatural position and he had, in fact, turned away from the ball, but it fell within FIFA’s current laws.
England were left frustrated, then, as Foster’s side were unable to follow up their success at the U19 Euros a year previous.
Elsewhere in the last 16, hosts Argentina – managed by Javier Mascherano – were knocked out after a 2-0 defeat to Nigeria, with the USA, Brazil, Israel and Colombia also into the last 16.
They can be joined by Gambia or Uruguay and Ecuador or South Korea as the quarter-final bracket is completed on Thursday.
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