Italy 4 Mali 2
Italy took full advantage of being up a man against Mali by scoring three times in the second half to prevail 4-2 and reach the semi-finals of the Under-20 World Cup.
Only 72 hours after their enthralling penalty shoot-out triumph against Argentina, Mali immediately faced an uphill battle against Gli Azzurrini.
An Ibrahima Kone own goal in the 12th minute gave way to a straight red card for Ousmane Diakite nine minutes later after he recklessly clattered into Luca Pelligrini.
But the Malians flashed their fighting spirit to equalise twice, first via Sekou Koita in the 39th minute and again through Mohamed Camara in the 79th minute.
Italy turned to the prolific Andrea Pinamonti for goals and their No9 did not disappoint. He beat Youssouf Koita at his near post in the 60th minute and converted a penalty in the 83rd.
Davide Frattesi's looping header a minute later gave the Italians a two-goal edge they would not relinquish.
Though Sekou Koita won a penalty in the waning seconds of stoppage time, Alessandro Plizzari made a top save to cement his side's semi-final berth.
Colombia 0 Ukraine 1
Ukraine continued their unprecedented run at the Under-20 World Cup by defeating Colombia 1-0 in Lodz on Saturday (AEST) to reach their first semi-final.
It was a dream start for the Ukrainians when Danylo Sikan took advantage of confusion from the Colombia defence to open the scoring in the 11th minute.
Sikan won a goal kick that prompted Colombia goalkeeper Kevin Mier to come off his line.
The Ukrainian forward then outmuscled Carlos Cuesta to tap the ball through Mier's legs before firing into an unmanned net.
Los Cafeteros' attack was largely kept in check until the last 15 minutes of the match, when they began to throw even more players forward.
Their best chance to equalise came in the 82nd minute when substitute Luis Sandoval dragged his shot wide left after a scramble in the penalty area.
Johan Carbonero saw red for his dangerous sliding challenge of Denys Popov in the 86th minute, shutting the door on Colombia's hopes to draw level.
The record-setting run at Poland 2019 rolls on for Ukraine, who will now make their maiden semi-final appearance after prevailing in their first quarter-final.
