U.S. under-17 men

Brazil is quarterfinal opponent after 2-0 loss to Spain.

LAHTI, Finland (Wednesday, August 20, 2003) - Jurado scored a lucky early goal while Cesc added late insurance while his team was a man short, lifting Spain past the United States 2-0 to win Group D in the FIFA Under-17 World Championship before 3,825 at Lahti Stadium tonight.

The U.S. (2-1, 6 points), which rested key players from its first two outings here, finished second in Group D and will face Group C winner Brazil Sunday at 7 a.m. (ET) in the quarterfinals. Spain (2-0-1, 7) will meet Group C runnerup Sunday in another quarterfinal.

When South Korea defeated Sierra Leone 3-2 in an earlier Group D match, Spain knew it was assured of a quarterfinal berth; the U.S. clinched advancement after downing Sierra Leone 3-2 on Sunday. Both teams suited up different lineups compared to their first two matches with the Americans using five different starters and Spain having four.

Spain was the dominant team for most of the match, outshooting the Americans 15-5, 7-3 on frame, while controlling the action for large portions of the game.

"We had our hands full with Spain from the opening whistle and couldn't seem to really get much going offensively," U.S. coach John Ellinger said. "In the second half, we obviously played better up a man, but their second goal kind of broke our spirits a bit. Now, we just have to put this game behind us and look towards another tough opponent in Brazil in the quarterfinals."

Spain put the U.S. backline on its heels early, controlling most of the possession while serving dangerous crosses from the flanks.

In the 11th minute, Silva touched a pass to his right to Jurado who carried 15 yards, splitting midfielders Brian Grazier and Eddie Gaven, to the top center of the penalty area before triggering a shot. American defender Adrian Chevannes, going for the tackle, had the ball ricochet of his right heel. Goalkeeper Quentin Westberg, who began to move to his right, was left helpless as the redirected ball tucked into the corner behind him for a 1-0 advantage.

After a pair of U.S. opportunities, Spain came right back with a chance of its own. Sisi raced down a loose ball on the right of the penalty area and served up a cross into the box to defender Raul Llorente who rose at the back post between two defenders. Sisi drove a header directly at Westberg, who did well to parry the ball over the crossbar.

With striker Freddie Adu, who had four goals in the first two outings, not in the starting lineup, Jamie Watson struggled to apply any pressure on the Spanish defense with first Guillermo Gonzalez and then Gaven playing in the second forward position during the first half.

Watson did manage a couple of chances early. In the 13th minute, midfielder Danny Szetela was able get a sliding boot on a clearance by Spain keeper Mandaluniz, knocking it into the penalty area to Watson. Watson cut inside past the first defender, but defender Sanchez was able to get back and poke the ball away.

One minute later, Watson had his best chance of the night when he carried into the penalty area from the left flank. A quick touch to his right gave him an opening for a shot, but the ball was blocked by a defender and went out for a corner kick..

In the 28th minute, Westberg came up with another big save, leaving his feet and stretching out to deny a 20-yard left-footed blast from Silva.

In first-half stoppage time, Spain was reduced to 10 men when Silva was shown a red card. Gonzalez had attempted to get a piece of Silva's clearance near the right corner flag, slightly bumping him and Silva retaliated with a right forearm, knocking Gonzalez to the ground.

With the advantage, the U.S. was able to put a bit more pressure on Spain's back line. In the 65th minute, Ellinger inserted Adu into the game, but the Americans could not create a legitimate scoring opportunity.

As the U.S. pushed for a tie, Sisi had his right-side corner kick cleared to Cesc, 24 yards from the center of the goal. Cesc collected the ball and nailed a shot inside the left post for a 2-0 lead in the 70th minute. Westberg had no chance.

In the next 10 minutes, Mandaluniz scooped up a chip by Adu, punched a 25-yard free kick by Gonzalez over the bar and was perfectly positioned to stop a blast by midfielder Daniel Szetala.

Referee: Heber Lopes (Brazil). Assistant referees: Ednilson Corona (Brazil), Allessandro Rocha. Attendance: 3,825 at Lahti (Finland) Stadium. Weather: Cloudy, cool, 60 degrees.