Wisconsin Soccer Central

New Zealand faces a tough task as it makes its knockout-round debut at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup on home soil Thursday against Portgual, and it looks like incoming University of Wisconsin freshman Sam Brotherton will play an important role for the Junior All Whites.

The center back reportedly could be asked to man mark one of the two strikers who have led Portugal's potent attack at the tournament, Andre Silva or Ivo. Portugal outscored Colombia, Senegal and Qatar 10-1 in cruising to the title in Group C, with the FC Porto forwards combining for six goals - Silva has four and Ivo has added two.

The 18-year-old Brotherton played all 270 minutes and scored a goal as New Zealand went 1-1-1 and finished third in Group A play behind Ukraine and the U.S. It was the first win in tournament history for the Junior All Whites, who advanced to the Round of 16 as one of the top four third-place teams in the 24-team event.

Kickoff at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton is set for 2:30 a.m. Central. The match will be shown live on Fox Soccer Plus and streamed live on NBCSports.com.

The U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over Colombia earlier today. Rubio Rubin scored the lone goal in the 58th minute, Zack Steffen saved an 83rd-minute penalty kick and the Americans held on despite playing the final 7 minutes with 10 men. The U.S. wil play Serbia in the quarterfinals on Sunday (11:30 p.m. Saturday Central).