Aiming to reach the quarter-finals of the Under-20 World Cup for the first time as an independent nation, Slovakia Under-20s meet Colombia Under-20s in Wednesday evening's last-16 affair at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario in San Juan.
Hector Cardenas's side booked their spot in the knockout rounds via a first-placed finish in Group C, while their European counterparts progressed by the skin of their teeth courtesy of their third-placed ranking.
Match preview
Struggling to emulate the feats of near neighbours Argentina and Brazil - who have 11 Under-20 World Cup titles between them - Colombia have at least kick-started their bid for a maiden international crown at this level in an ideal manner.
Joining Israel, Japan and Senegal in Group B, Colombia recorded a pair of 2-1 wins over the two former nations - albeit while having to come from behind in both games - before shaking hands on a solitary point with Senegal, once again conceding first before Oscar Cortes levelled right at the death.
However, there was little riding on that encounter for Cardenas's men on Saturday, as back-to-back wins in their opening two group matches had already rubber-stamped a top-two finish for Colombia, who ultimately ended up three points better off than Israel in second spot.
One-time semi-finalists in the 2003 edition - winning the bronze medal that year - Colombia have since suffered three last-16 exits and two quarter-final eliminations on the biggest stage, going out in the final eight during the 2019 Under-20 World Cup.
A run of just one defeat from their last nine matches in all competitions serves as a reason for optimism this time around, and while La Tricolor are yet to plug the gaps in their leaky defence, Slovakia cannot rest on their laurels should they also draw first blood versus their last-16 opponents.
A 4-0 thrashing of Fiji in their opening group game ended up proving priceless for Slovakia, who came up short in their final two group matches with Ecuador and the United States by an aggregate scoreline of 4-1 but still punched their ticket into the knockout rounds.
Goals from Cade Cowell and Niko Tsakiris propelled the USA to a comfortable 2-0 win over Albert Rusnak's men on Friday, but their three-point haul was sufficient to send them through as one of the four best third-placed teams, pipping France and Japan to a knockout berth on goal difference.
A less emphatic win against Fiji could have therefore brought Slovakia's journey to an early end, but the Little Falcons have been offered a second bite at the cherry in what is only their second appearance at the Under-20 World Cup as an independent nation.
Slovakia managed to reach the last 16 in their inaugural appearance at the competition, but they lost 2-1 to Brazil at this stage courtesy of Dudu's golden goal and will no doubt boast the underdogs tag heading into their first-ever Under-20 match with Colombia, while either England or Italy will face the winners for a place in the semi-finals.
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