Hernandez hat-trick fires Colombia through to round of 16: FIFA Under-20 World Cup highlights - day 7

A hat-trick from Juan Hernandez has helped Colombia secure their place in the FIFA U-20 World Cup round of 16 with a resounding 6-0 victory over Tahiti.

Colombia's Juan Hernandez with the match ball Source: Getty Images

Colombia 6 Tahiti 0

It took just eight minutes for Los Cafeteros to take control of the contest; Luis Sinisterra heading home from a Jamie Alvarado corner, and while Tahiti tried to stifle their opposition, the floodgates soon opened with deadly effect.

Sinisterra and Hernandez added three more goals in a five-minute flurry to end the first half, before the Watford forward completed his hat-trick with a well-taken volley in the 70th minute.

Substitute Deiber Caicedo added further gloss on the victory few minutes from full-time, as the South Americans eased into the knockout stages in second place behind group leaders Senegal.

Senegal 0 Poland 0

Senegal secured top spot in Group A following a 0-0 draw with hosts Poland, who also booked their place in the last-16 as a superior third-placed side.

Poland pushed their African opponents but were unable to breach a defence that is yet to concede at this year's tournament.

The Lions of Teranga meanwhile mustered few chances of their own but found goalkeeper Radosław Majecki equally impenetrable.

Italy 0 Japan 0

Japan and Italy both confirmed their progress to the round of 16 with a 0-0 draw in Bydgoszcz.

The Asian nation came into the match needing at least a point to seal their place in the next phase and got the job done against a much-changed Italy outfit already through in first place.

Marco Carnesecchi played his first minutes at the tournament for the Italians and repaid Paolo Nicolato's faith with a penalty save against Hiroki Ito in the 11th minute.

That would prove the only real highlight of the match, with both sides set to turn their attention to forthcoming fixtures.

Ecuador 1 Mexico 0

Gonzalo Plata's early effort was all it took for Ecuador against Mexico at the Gdynia Stadium.

Gustavo Vallecilla's determined run and cross was met by a composed Plata inside the penalty area and the Independiente del Valle midfielder made no mistake.

El Tri thought they had levelled proceedings in the 19th minute, only for the VAR to rule Mario Trejo's goal out for offside.

With Mexico's campaign at an end, Ecuador will now have to wait and see whether they can progress as one of the top four third-placed teams.