US rallies to beat France 3-2, reach Under-20 quarterfinals

Sebastian Soto tied the score with his second goal of the match in the 74th minute and Justin Rennicks got the go-ahead goal in the 83rd to lead the United States over France 3-2 Tuesday at Bydgoszcz, Poland, and into its third straight quarterfinal appearance at the Under-20 World Cup.

The U.S. plays Ecuador on Saturday at Gdynia, and the winner advances to a semifinal against South Korea or Senegal. The Americans were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Serbia on penalty kicks in 2015 and by Venezuela in extra time two years ago. The U.S. made its only semifinal appearance in 1989.

Soto put the U.S. ahead in the 25th minute, sprinting past defender Enzo Loiodice to take a through pass from Richard Ledezma, who dribbled half the length of the field on a counterattack.

France took a 2-1 lead on goals by Amine Gouri in the 41st and Nabil Alioui in the 55th.

Soto scored his fourth goal of the tournament, slipping past Dan Zagadou to run onto a pass from Tim Weah, taking two touches and beating goalkeeper Alban Lafont with a left-footed shot.

Rennicks entered in the 63rd minute and got the winner when Sergino Dest’s 25-yard shot was parried by a diving Lafont, and Rennicks beat the goalkeeper to the rebound and poked the ball in.

American midfielders Alex Mendez and Chris Durkin were suspended for the round-of-16 match because of yellow-card accumulation but will be eligible to return for the quarterfinals.

In quarterfinals on Friday, Italy faces Argentina and Colombia meets Ukraine.