Germany produced a combination of sublime skills and brute power as they laid bare Colombia's defensive frailties with a clinical 4-0 victory in their FIFA Under-17 World Cup pre-quarter-final match in New Delhi on Monday.
Captain and star striker Jann-Fiete Arp (7th and 65th minute) struck twice while Yann Bisseck (39th) and John Yeboah (49th) scored a goal each to help Germany reach the quarters.
In the other pre-quarter-final match of the day, striker Tim Weah scored a spectacular hat-trick as the United States of America routed Paraguay 5-0.
Germany, whose best show in the tournament is a runners-up finish, way back in the first edition in 1985, now face the winners of the pre-quarter-final between Brazil and Honduras on October 18 in Kochi, in the quarter-finals to be played in Kolkata on October 22.
Germany had struggled to get the goals against their opponents in a relatively easier Group C, but their strikers had a field day on Monday, taking cracks at will as the Colombian defence put up an apology of a performance.
All the goals scored by Germany were defensive bloopers committed either by Colombian goalkeeper Kevin Mier or the back four.
On certain occasions, the defensive mistakes reached comical proportions.
The Colombians, who had broken Indian hearts beating them 2-1, had finished second in Group A but today was a forgettable night.
Their defence was woeful for a South American side in a global showpiece event.
Their right winger Juan Panaloza, who scored both the goals against India, had an off day as he was checked by the German defenders for most part of the match.
Their other key player, Leandro Campaz, did not start the match and by the time he was introduced in the second half, Colombia were already 0-2 down.
In the second session, he initiated some dangerous moves from the left flank but did not trouble the German defence much.
The well-built Germans did not allow the Colombians to play their passing game by using long balls and winning most of the aerial duels.
They also matched the speed of the Colombians and exploited the defensive woes of the South Americans to the hilt.
Right winger Yeboah and his left counterpart Dennis Jastrzembski were outstanding with their dangerous runs down the flanks while Arp was as deadly as ever. The Colombians simply wilted under pressure.
Arp, who recently made his Bundesliga debut for Hamburg, took his tally of goals to four with the twin strike. He had scored two goals out of his side's five in the group stage.
Germany took an early lead to seize the initiative in the match. From a Yeboah through pass, Arp found himself in a one-on-one with goalkeeper Mier.
The German striker's first touch was not cleanly collected by the goalkeeper and the ball landed back to Arp who curled a left-footer to the top left corner of the net.
Colombia soon had a very good move in the 14th minute and Robert Mejía's left-footed grounder from a difficult angle just missed the right post.
Colombia were having more possession at that time but the Germans were dangerous in counter-attacks. The Colombian defence were found shaky on many occasions.
In the 10th minute, in a mix up, the Colombian goalkeeper Mier lost the ball well outside his zone but luckily he recovered and collected the ball.
Two minutes later, Mier was beaten again but luckily there were no German legs to tap the ball home.
Yeboah himself had a fierce left-footed shot in the 34th minute which beat the goalkeeper but was denied by the crossbar.
The second German goal came in the 39th minute as the Colombians allowed an unmarked Yann Bisseck to make a powerful header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner off a net from a corner taken by Shaverdi Cetin.
The Germans continued their domination in the second session also and they took no time in made it 3-0.
Off a clearance from the German half, the Colombian defence, playing a high line, was caught napping and skipper Arp was alone with an onrushing goalkeeper but he unselfishly set up Yeboah to slot the ball into an empty net.
The fourth German goal was a defensive howler as Guillermo Tegue kocked the ball onto the body of Arp while trying a backpass to his goalkeeper.
The German striker stole the ball from Tegue and muscled into the box beating the hapless goalkeeper to complete the rout.
Weah tricks as USA crush Paraguay to enter quarters
Striker Tim Weah lived up to his famous surname with a spectacular hat-trick that enabled the United States of America rout Paraguay.
In a fast-paced encounter, the Americans came up with their best performance of the tournament to make it to their sixth quarter-finals of the showpiece event.
Weah, son of former AC Milan and Liberian legend George Weah, showed why Paris Saint-Germain have decided to invest in his talent.
The US had finished third in Group A while Paraguay topped Group B and Monday's pre-quarterfinal match was expected to be a tight one but in the end it turned out to be a completely one-sided match as the South American side never seemed to turn up.
Weah struck in the 19th, 53rd and 77th minutes while Andrew Carleton and captain Josh Sargent joined the American party in the 63rd and 74th minute in front of the 34,895 spectators at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
USA, who had beaten India 3-0 in their campaign opener, will now play the winner of Tuesday's pre-quarter-final match between England and Japan.
The match will be in Margao, Goa, on October 21.
The big crowd got their money’s worth as they watched a feast though the Praguayans turned out to be a complete mismatch with trio of Weah, Sargent and Carleton simply destroyed the Paraguayans.
Weah made a clinical first touch finish with his left foot for his first goal, directing the perfect low cross from the right by Ayo Akinola in the 19th minute.
The second was a spectacular shot from the left edge of the box after a clinical first touch, which curled round the diving goalkeeper to hit the right corner of the net.
The third was a simple and easy chance after Weah was nicely set up by Carleton in front of an open goal.
USA captain Sargent had another impressive game today, as he set up Carleton for USA's third goal in the 63rd minute. Sargent himself entered his name in the scoresheet in the 77th minute with Carleton assisting him this time.
For Paraguay, they could not come up with a single clear scoring chance. They laid seize of the American citadel only for a brief period -- towards the end of the first half – but either the quality of the final pass was poor or their forwards were wayward.
The USA defence also was too strong to be broken down.
USA could have won by a bigger margin. In the 43rd minute, Chris Goslin's free kick from well outside the box hit the bar and then Akinola's effort of his chest was cleared from the goal-line by a Paraguay defender.
