ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Spain became the first team to advance to the knockout stages of the Under-20 World Cup, earning a lacklustre 1-0 victory over Ghana on Monday. The United States boosted its chances of reaching the final 16 with a hard-fought 1-1 draw with France after a late strike by Daniel Cuevas. Spain, the tournament favourite, was a shadow of the team that routed the Americans 4-1. It rarely threatened and often appeared unsettled by Ghanas pressing style. The only real chance for Spain came in the 13th minute when Denis Suarez took a long ball and sent a pass to an unmarked Jese who tapped it in. Ghana had the better chances in the second period but struggled to finish. A header from Frank Acheapong went wide in the 55th and then Yiadome Boakye spun around and fired his shot just over the goal three minutes later. Ghanas Ebenezer Assifuah was taken down in the area in injury time by defender Israel Puerto but no penalty was called. Spain coach Julen Lopetegui insisted he was "happy" with his sides performance despite its lack of offence. "We played a strong physical team and we had a lot of chances," he said. "We scored one goal and dominated the second half. We are very happy to be in the second round." Ghanas Sellas Tetteh praised his players "brave" effort and blamed the poor finish on his sides inexperience. It now must beat the United States in its final group match for any chance of advancing. "You never call it over until its over," Tetteh said. "That is the game of football. There is nothing that is impossible. We will give it our final shot." In the earlier match, France looked on pace to win and advance after Auxerre striker Yaya Sanogo scored his second goal of the tournament from a penalty kick in the 48th minute. It came after Dimitri Foulquier was sideswiped by Americas Javan Torre in the area. The United States had few chances and missed those it did have -- the worst when Luis Gils penalty was easily saved in the 65th. But the Americans grew in confidence toward the end and it paid off in the 85th. Gil made up for his miss, curving a free kick into the area that Cuevas pounced on and scored. "I feel like they were confused. They couldnt get the ball out and luckily it took a bounce my way and I got to push it in," Cuevas said. The late goal showed the character of the American team, he said. "Our team is very united and we are always together and pushing forward," Cuevas said. "If things dont go our way, we keep trying and keep trying until they do. Luckily we got the tie." Coach Tab Ramos admitted he was a "little disappointed" with the performance from the Americans early on but happy to come away with a draw. "My disappointment is that in a game like today we should have gotten all three points," Ramos said. "At the end of the day, it was great courage, effort by our team." With France and Spain having won their openers, the United States needs a victory in its final match against Ghana to advance outright. But it could still advance as one of the four best third-placed teams. France failed to repeat the form that beat Ghana 3-1 in its opener. "I dont think we had a great control of the game tonight," France coach Pierre Mankowski said. "It feels a bit strange because the U.S. team was hardly dangerous. But they had situations they should have never had. We conceded a penalty and a free-kick, which led to their goal." France will be without captain Paul Pogba for their final group match against Spain after a second yellow card in two matches. "The boys were really disappointed at the end of the game," Mankowski said. "Playing without Pogba for the last crucial game against Spain is something we have to figure out tomorrow when things will be quieter." In the other early match in Group B, Nigeria got its campaign on track with a 3-0 win over newcomer Cuba. Aminu Umar scored twice in four minutes and captain Abdul Ajagun got his third of the tournament as the African team easily beat Cuba. Nigeria opened the scoring when Olarenwaju Kayodefed fed Umar for the easy tap-in with 19 minutes gone. Four minutes later, Abdullahi Shehu drilled a cross which Umar flicked between his legs for the goal. The Nigerians completed the route in the 67th when Kingsley Madus cross was headed home by Ajagun. In the other Group B match, South Korea twice came from behind to draw with Portugal 2-2. Ryan Tannehill Titans Jersey . - Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin has cleared league-mandated concussion protocol and has returned to practice as a full participant. Nate Davis Youth Jersey . Despite Arsenals financial firepower, the 31-year-old midfielder was the only arrival in the January transfer window. Signed until the end of the season as injury cover, Kallstrom might not be fit until mid-March after arriving Friday at Arsenal having injured his back earlier in the week while training with Spartak Moscow. http://www.authentictitanspro.com/Jeffer...-titans-jersey/. Toronto ended an 0-4-0 skid with Sundays shootout win over visiting New Jersey, but the club could have a difficult time making it two victories in a row tonight. The Maple Leafs have dropped three straight and 11 of the last 12 regular- season meetings against Boston overall and the Bruins have claimed six straight in Beantown. Derrick Henry Titans Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Eddie George Youth Jersey . Brazilian striker Brandao opened the scoring with a header in the 55th minute before winger Franck Tabanou volleyed home from close range to double the lead in the 61st.NEW YORK -- Back in May, in the aftermath of early losses for both at the French Open, good friends Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki -- who also was about a week removed from the end of her engagement to golfs Rory McIlroy -- flew from Paris to Miami and hung out. They went to the beach, to a basketball playoff game -- and put photos of the good times on social media. "Serena is a fun girl. Shes so nice to hang out with. Always makes me laugh and makes everyone around her laugh," Wozniacki said. "Definitely a very inspiring person to be around." A few months later, here Williams and Wozniacki are, back at the top of their tennis games and back together, facing one another Sunday for the U.S. Open championship. On Saturday night, Wozniacki re-posted a photo from the night the Miami Heat clinched the NBAs Eastern Conference championship, showing her and Williams wearing caps that read, "The Finals." Wozniacki wrote on Twitter: "The hat says it all ohh yeah!! ... cant wait!!" So when they were palling around in Florida, did they discuss the idea of turning their seasons around? "No. Not at all. Not even once," said Williams, who is bidding for Grand Slam trophy No. 18, and U.S. Open title No. 6, including three in a row. "We never talk tennis so much, since we spend so much of our life on the court. Same with me and (older sister) Venus. Last thing on our minds is tennis. If anything, its to NOT think about a forehand or a backhand." They did chat right before play began at Flushing Meadows, noting that the draw placed the top-seeded Williams and 10th-seeded Wozniacki on opposite sides of the bracket. "It was like, Oh, it would be much better to play each other in the final than earlier on. I was just glad we werent on the same side of the draw this tournament," Williams said. "Of course, we were like, That would be great if we could see each other in the final, because we both, you know, hadnt had the greatest Grand Slam year." That is true. Williams has not dropped a set the past two weeks while stretching her U.ddddddddddddS. Open winning streak to 20 matches. But she lost in the fourth round at the Australian Open, the second round at the French Open, and the third round at Wimbledon. Wozniacki, whose reputation as a counter-puncher is a complete contrast to Williams power-based style, exited in the third round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and the first round at the French Open. Heres a key difference: Williams is not used to leaving such tournaments so early. Shes reached at least one Grand Slam final in each of the past eight seasons, winning 10 major titles in that span. Wozniacki, meanwhile, will be participating in only the second major final of her career; she lost to Kim Clijsters at the 2009 U.S. Open. "I have definitely learned a lot in those years," said Wozniacki, whose high-profile relationship with McIlroy ended while the wedding invitations were in the mail. "I would love to ... have a Grand Slam under my belt," Wozniacki said. "It would definitely have the media stop talking about my lack of a Grand Slam, so that would be nice." No matter how close theyve become, neither Williams, who turns 33 this month, nor Wozniacki, a 24-year-old from Denmark, expects their off-court buddy-buddy status to have any effect on what happens in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday. "The friendship, while we are on court, is put aside. We are both competitors," said Wozniacki, who has lost eight of nine previous meetings against Williams. "After the match, one of us is going to congratulate the other and were going to be friends again. Its fine." Williams, of course, has plenty of experience forgetting her feelings about an opponent during a match: She has faced her sister 25 times, including in eight Grand Slam finals. "If I can play Venus, I can play anybody. I grew up with Venus. We actually lived together going on 33 years," Williams said with a laugh, "which is kind of sad." ' ' '