BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Argentina romped to a 12-2 victory over Panama on Sunday to set up a tantalizing semifinal clash with traditional rivals Brazil in the boys' Youth Olympics futsal tournament.
Needing to win by a margin of six goals or more to advance to the last four, the hosts made light work of the Central American team in front of a partisan crowd at Tecnopolis Park.
Facundo Gassmann toyed with Panama's defence by netting five goals while Ezequiel Ramirez grabbed a hat-trick. Alan di Candia, Agustin Raggiati, Joaquin Hernandez and Santiago Rufino were also on the scoresheet for Argentina. Jair Ogilvie and Carlos Agrazal were on target for Panama.
The result meant that Argentina finished second in Group A behind Egypt while Brazil topped Group B ahead of Russia.
"Although finishing in second place wasn't what we wanted, we arrived at this match with chances to qualify and we made it," Gassmann said.
Argentina now face Brazil on Monday, with the winner earning a beth in the gold medal decider.
"That is the game I've been wanting for many months now," Gassmann said. "We played a final against them in March and lost 3-2. It was a very tight match. Now we'll have a rematch. We hope to put in a good performance and at least leave everything on the court."
