10:52 | San Juan, Jan. 15 (ANDINA).
Cristian Benavente's first-half penalty was the difference as Peru edged out Venezuela 1-0 in the South American U-20 Championship on Monday.
The Real Madrid Castilla striker netted the only goal of the game in the 36th minute from the spot, after he was fouled in the box by Venezuela defender Wilker Ángel.
Unbeaten Peru have made a solid start to their campaign and are second in Group B with four points from two matches, one behind leaders Uruguay.
Venezuela are third on three points, Ecuador fourth on two and reigning champions Brazil fifth on one. Uruguay and Ecuador have played one more game.
The group will play all its games in San Juan, 1,150 kilometers west of Buenos Aires.
In Mendoza, Chile are the runaway leaders in Group A with three wins from three games; followed by Colombia and Paraguay, both level on three points from two games. Hosts Argentina and Bolivia are struggling at the bottom with one point each.
The top three from each section then advance to a six-team final qualifying phase also in Mendoza, where a round-robin format will decide the four sides to represent the region at Turkey 2013 next June/July.
(END) EEP/EEP
Published: 1/15/2013