Portugal defeated France 2-0 on Wednesday in Medellin with its stout defense and goalkeeper Mika registering their sixth straight clean sheet of the tournament.
In the other semifinal, Henrique scored twice in the last 10 minutes to lift Brazil to a 2-0 victory over Mexico in Pereira. Henrique has five goals and shares the tournament scoring lead with Alvaro Vazquez of Spain. Brazil has scored a tournament-best 15 goals.
Brazil will be chasing its fifth U-20 title — Argentina has won six — and Portugal will be after its third when the teams clash on Saturday in Colombia’s capital Bogota. Brazil lost to Ghana in the final two years ago in Egypt.
Saturday’s game will come 20 years after the previous Under-20 final between former colony and colonizer, which Portugal won on penalties with a team that boasted Luis Figo, Rui Costa and Joao Pinto.
In the first semifinal, Danilo gave Portugal a 1-0 lead with a leaping header in the 9th minute, and Nelson Oliveira made it 2-0 with a penalty in the 40th.
France, which was playing in an U-20 semifinal for the first time, had 61 percent of possession in the match and dominated the first half yet failed to score. In the second half it also controlled things, but had fewer chance to break through.
“I don’t know of any team that has gone into a final without giving up a goal,” Portugal coach Ilidio Vale said. “This needs to be appreciated. We’ve had a great World Cup and we scored two goals today to answer critics who said we could not score.”
Vale brushed off suggestions that his team, which has only scored five goals, does not belong in the final.
“The team plays with great organization, great heart and it plays smart,” he said.
France coach Francis Smerecki also dismissed criticism of Portugal’s defensive style.
“There are various ways of playing football,” he said. “The big thing that hurt us today was our own major errors. ... The World Cup produces exceptional things. If Portugal can go on without giving up a goal in this tournament, it will be a deserving champion.”
Brazil took a giant stride toward another Under-20 crown when it beat Spain on penalties in a quarterfinal that was level 2-2 after extra time, and progressed further on Wednesday after another tightly contested game.
Mexico had some good opportunities to take the lead in an evenly fought game, but Brazil turned up the pressure in the final 20 minutes. Henrique scored with a header in the 80th minute and then slotted home an 8-meter (yard) shot from a cross for the clinching goal.
His second was perfectly executed. Danilo tapped a quick pass to Dudu, who crossed to Henrique to finish perfectly for his fifth goal of the tournament.
“In all games of the tournament we have used a strategy of trying to wear down the opponent,” Brazil coach Ney Franco said. “In the second half we have sent in better technical players to finish the job.”
Gabriel played most of the match with a swollen, half-closed eye after being unintentionally kicked by Erick Torres when he went down to smother a ball in the 16th minute.
The loss ended a great run for Mexico: the senior team defeated the United States in the Gold Cup final in June, and the Aztecs defeated Uruguay in the Under-17 World Cup final in July.
