FIFA Under-20 World Cup kicks off in Turkey with victories for Spain, France

ISTANBUL

Members of the Spanish team celebrate after scoring during a group stage football match between Spain and the United States at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup at the TT Arena stadium in Istanbul. AFP photo

The FIFA Under-20 World Cup kicked off in Turkey with four encounters today as favorites such as Spain and France took center stage in the competition.

France won 3-1 its group A game against Ghana in Istanbul's Türk Telekom Arena with goals by  Geoffrey Kondogbia, Yaya Sanogo and Jean-Christophe Bahebeck. In the same group, Spain, filled with young talent, defeated easily the United States 4-1 with all goals scored in the first half.

In the group B matches played in Kayseri's Kadir Has stadium, South Korea came from behind to beat Cuba 2-1 while Portugal ended victorious 3-2 after a thriller against Nigeria.

Turkey enters in the competition tomorrow in Trabzon against El Salvador.

Gaziantep, Rize, Antalya and Bursa are the other venues of the group stages. The semifinals will be held in Bursa and Trabzon while the final will take place in Istanbul at the Türk Telekom Arena on July 13.