European champions Spain rallied to make the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup with a 2 -1 victory over France, signalling their title intentions here on Tuesday.
Spain will take on Asian surprise package Iran, who knocked out fancied Mexico by a similar margin in the day's another pre-quarterfinal clash at Margao, Goa.
Juan Miranda (44th minute) and Abel Ruiz (90th) scored for Spain, while lenny Pintor struck for France in the 34th minute at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here.
Pintor put France ahead in the Round of 16 clash, but the lead did not last more than 10 minutes as Miranda restored parity just as the half time approached.
Spain celebrated after Miranda headed in the ball to the top right corner off a Ferran Torres cross.
Moments before Spain erupted in joy, France had taken the lead when Pintor's right-footed shot from the centre of the box off Amine Gouiri's assist found the back of the net.
Just when it appeared that the match between the two European giants would end on level terms, the Spanish side were awarded a penalty, which Barcelona starlet Ruiz duly converted to break the French hearts and knock them out of the tournament.
Incidentally, France had lost to Spain in the quarterfinals of the European Championships.
Ruiz ensured the result would not be any different this time around when he concerted from the spot after the penalty was conceded by Oumar Solet. In the four-minute injury time, Wilson Isidor's header from the centre of the box off Maxence Caqueret's cross was blocked by the Spanish defence.
There were attempts galore in both halves as France and Spain looked to outdo each other.
Before that, Pintor's right-footed attempt off Yacine Adli pass too was saved, as the Frenchmen's quest to find the equaliser ended in disappointment.
Spain, too, made their moves but they were also not effective enough.
Having staged a fine comeback after losing their tournament opener to Brazil, Spain are seeking their maiden FIFA U-17 World Cup title.
Iran beat Mexico 2-1
Margao: Iran played a tactical game to outwit Mexico 2-1 and set up a clash with Spain in the quarter-finals of the U-17 World Cup, on Tuesday.
Iran exploited the rival's weak defence to score through Mohammed Sharifi (7th) and Allahyar Sayyad (11th).
Mexico though attacked from the word go and created several chances, they were either off the target or failed to surpass the rival keeper Ali Gholam Zadeh.
However, Mexico managed to reduce the margin in the 37th minute through Roberto De la Rosa.
After Mexico were down by two goals, they played quick short passes to unsettle Iran's defence, who were playing with five defenders.
Each time Iran's defence fell apart, it was keeper Zadeh who came up with some smart saves, especially in the second half, to deny the Americans a chance to score goals.
Iran, knowing that Mexico are good in the attack, adopted a cautious approach to keep their rivals attacking moves at bay and waited for opportunities to punish Mexico's weak defence. Iran earned a penalty in the 7th minute when Mexico defender Adrian Vazquez brought down Mohammed Ghaderi while going for the ball inside the box and referee Anthony Taylor had no hesitation in awarding the penalty, which Sharifi converted successfully.
Mexico's defence was exposed again four minutes later as Sayyad placed the ball into the net, past the advancing keeper Cesar lopez.
Unfazed by the set back, Mexico kept on attacking with a series of moves and after missing couple of close chances, they managed to find the net. Roberto De la Rosa found the back of the net off a rebound from the top of the box after the Iranian keeper managed to block Diego lainez's left-footed shot. Daniel lopez, who was the livewire in the middle, initiated the move.
The second half was more lively as both the teams went on the attacking mode and both the goalkeepers made some good saves. Mexico strikers lopez and la Rosa worked in tandem and with good support from their midfielder, they kept attacking but the Iran keeper made smart saves.