THE Republic of Ireland, who reached the last eight of the World Youth Championships finals on Wednesday by defeating Morocco 2-1, will meet Spain in a quarter-final tie at the Shah Alam Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday (1.30 p.m. Irish time).

Spain, kept goalless by Canada in the first half at Kuantan yesterday, ensured their passage with a 2-0 victory with goals from Jose Rodriguez (74th minute) and Alberto Pizarro (two minutes from the final whistle).

Holders Argentina set up a potentially explosive quarter-final clash against favourites Brazil after defeating England 2-1 yesterday.

But Australia, who upset Argentina 4-3 in the first round, crashed to a 1-0 defeat against Japan - Asia's sole survivors in the biannual under-20 tournament, while Japan will face Ghana, easy 3-0 victors over the United Arab Emirates.

The fourth quarter-final on Sunday will feature France against Uruguay, both of whom won their second round matches on Wednesday.