Gambia upsets Portugal 2-1
MONTREAL �" Substitute Abdoulie Mansally scored on a free kick in the 68th minute as short-handed Gambia defeated Portugal 2-1 to take second place in Group C at the FIFA U-20 World Cup on Sunday.
Ousman Jallow scored on a penalty in the 44th minute for Gambia, which played the final 31 minutes with 10 men after defender Ken Jammeh was sent off for a nasty tackle that forced Andre Marques out with a left leg injury.
Gambia, in its' first U-20 World Cup, had two wins and a loss to finish second to 3-0-0 Mexico.
Feliciano Condesso scored in the 20th minute for Portugal, which had a win and two losses but will advance to the round of 16. The Olympic Stadium crowd of 28,402 was almost entirely decked out in Portuguese red, green and gold.
The Portuguese also saw star midfielder Bruno Gama leave the stadium on a stretcher after the 74th minute with what appeared to be a foot injury.
Confident they would go through and looking to rest players on yellow cards, the Portuguese made sweeping line-up changes from Thursday's 2-1 loss to Mexico, with defenders Pedro Correia, Steven Vitoria and Marques as well as forward Condesso replacing Pele, Joao Pedro, Mano and Bruno Pereirinha.
And although Gambia had early chances, it looked to work out. Just after a free kick by Gama was swept away, Correia sent a cross pass to the far post that was headed in by Condesso in the 20th minute.
But in the 42nd minute, Gambia was awarded a free kick inside the Portuguese penalty area due to delaying tactics by goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
While Sainey Nyassi shot high on that one, only two minutes later Paulo Renato tripped Jallow at the edge of the box and the Gambian striker made no mistake on the penalty shot for his second goal of the tournament.
Mansally, who entered the match in the 32nd minute, had just missed a chance in close on the header when he was awarded a free kick near the right touch line. His left-footed kick was bent perfectly off the far post and in.
Forward Fabio Coentrao served a one-game suspension for accumulating two yellow cards.
Gambia had only one new starter, midfielder Paul Jatta.
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