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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The knockout rounds of the Under-20 World Cup opened with a major upset as Mali stunned Ghana 3-0 while 10-man Serbia beat Hungary 2-1 in extra time on Wednesday.
Bence Mervo put underdog Hungary ahead with his fifth goal of the tournament in the 57th minute but Serbia, reduced to 10 men, equalized though Ivan Saponjic in stoppage time, and took the round-of-16 match with a heart-breaking own goal by Attila Talaber in the 118th minute.
Talaber was inconsolable when the final whistle sounded.
Mali defied all pre-match predictions when it outclassed Ghana in cold, wet and windy conditions in Wellington. It was the first time Ghana fell before the quarterfinals, and they won the tournament in 2009.
Mali played with cool-headed efficiency, working the ball forward in carefully structured attack, while Ghana had only sporadic shots.
"We were extremely well prepared to face Ghana, and did exactly what we set out to do," Mali coach Fanyeri Diarra said. "My team kept things very compact, and we delivered a great performance.
Veteran Ghana coach Sellas Tetteh said Mali's win was well-deserved.
"We simply didn't settle into our game, and in the last third in particular we just lacked ideas and creativity," he said. "We also made too many unnecessary mistakes in our buildup play, and our opponents severely punished us for that."
The cruel nature of knockout football was on show in the Serbia-Hungary clash at Dunedin. Serbia, a group winner, was heavily favored to beat a Hungary team which squeaked into the playoffs as one of the best group third-place teams.
But Hungary stunned Serbia when Mervo swept a low cross into the net from close range in the second half. Hungary then defended intrepidly, resisting waves of Serbia attacks as the clock ticked down.
When Serbia's Milan Gajic was sent off for a second yellow card late, it appeared the favorite's hopes were at an end, but they conjured an equalizer just before the final whistle when Saponjic raced forward to head the ball past goalkeeper Gyorgy Szekely.
Extra time was near an end, and penalties beckoning, when Talaber attempted to clear a ball across the face of goal but succeeded only in lobbing it in over Szekely.
The goal sent Serbia into the quarterfinals, where it will face the winner of Wednesday's late match between the United States and Colombia.
Mali will face the winner of Thursday's glamour match between Germany and Nigeria, in a quarterfinal at Christchurch on Sunday.
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