Special to CanadaSoccer.com / by Christina Atallah

A spot in the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 is up for grabs this week in Edmonton and Toronto. With both semifinal games being played between teams from the same confederation, the rivalry should be intense.

The first match will be the fifth all-European semifinal showdown in the history of the FIFA U-20 World Cup as Austria and the Czech Republic will go to battle on 18 July at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

This year is the first time two European sides have qualified for the semifinals of a FIFA U-20 World Cup since 1995 when Portugal and Spain advanced to that round only to be eliminated by two South American teams, Brazil and Argentina respectively. This is the first time Austria has qualified for the semifinal of a FIFA competition since the 1954 FIFA World Cup, while the Czech Republic’s last FIFA semifinal was the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1997.

The Czechs will have to be wary of Austrian striker Erwin Hoffer, who has three goals in the tournament so far, two of which were scored within ten minutes of him entering the match. His last goal came in the quarterfinal against the United States when he scored only two minutes after coming off the bench. The Austrians should be careful to avoid a shootout with the Czech Republic, who are the second team since the inaugural FIFA U-20 World Cup in 1977 to have won two consecutive penalty shootouts at the tournament.

The two teams faced each other last year in the finals of the UEFA European U-19 Championship, where the Czechs won 3:1. The two nations also went head-to-head in the first round at the FIFA U-20 World Youth Championship in 1983, with the former Czechoslovakia taking the match 4:0.

Austria will face the Czechs without defender Michael Madl and midfielder Michael Stanislaw, who are both suspended for one game after picking up two yellow cards in the knockout round. Midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic has an injury and defender Thomas Panny will be sidelined for the rest of the tournament because he fractured his fibula in training. Tomas Oklestek might not be ready to suit up for the Czech Republic due to a shoulder injury and Petr Janda and Lukas Kuban are also sustaining injuries. There is good news for the Czechs though, as midfielder Jakub Mares will be making his return from a suspension.

The second semifinal game will be an all-South American match as Chile faces off against Argentina in Toronto on 19 July.

The match is expected to be a close one between CONMEBOL’s two remaining representatives with both teams having recorded four wins and one draw at the tournament so far. The game pits one of the tournament’s top strikers against one of the top goalies. Argentinean star Sergio El Kun Aguero is the tournament’s joint top scorer, recording five goals so far, while Chilean keeper Cristopher Toselli has gone 480 minutes without conceding a goal. If he can hold the Argentineans off for five minutes in this match he will break the record set by Brazilian goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel set in 1985.

The Argentineans came out on top of their hard fought quarterfinal match against Mexico 1:0, while the Chileans advanced to the semifinals by defeating Nigeria 4:0. The score is deceiving though, as they were held to a scoreless tie until extra time, when they recorded all their goals. They became the first national team at any level to score four goals in extra time of a World Cup match.

In four FIFA competitions, Chile have never won a semifinal. Their last attempt came at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament in 2000, which they lost 2:1 to Cameroon. Argentina has reached the semifinals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup eight times in twelve attempts, and six times in their last seven appearances. Coach Hugo Tocalli has led the Argentineans to four semifinals in his four appearances at FIFA tournaments but he has yet to reach a FIFA World Cup Final.

While both nations have never played each other at a FIFA U-20 World Cup or in another FIFA youth tournament, they have competed against each other three times in South American qualifying for Canada 2007. The Argentineans won one game with the other two matches ending in draws.

Argentinean midfielder Damian Escudero will be sidelined again due to a muscular injury, however Mauro Zarate will be back in the lineup after recovering from a swollen knee. Chilean defender Arturo Vidal will make his return from a one-game suspension, but Christian Sepulveda will miss this match after picking up two yellow cards.

The winners of both matches will advance to the final on 22 July at the National Soccer Stadium in Toronto.