Santos ensured they would finish in the top two in Group B following an excellent display of attacking football that highlighted the quality of their play.
Dutch side Feyenoord put one foot in the semi-finals when they defeated English giants Everton 2-1 to knock the Merseyside club out of contention.
Feyenoord now need just a point from their final pool match against Santos on Tuesday to make the last-four, though even defeat will be enough if the South Africa U-19s don’t get a massive win against Everton on the same day.
Matheus Silva moved to the top of the scorers table at the tournament with two first-half strikes that got Santos on their way against the South Africa U-19 side. He now has three for the competition.
The first was a great individual effort as he drove towards goal and unleashed a 30-yard strike into the bottom corner of the net.
His second was more of a poacher’s effort as he reacted quickest to a shot that had rebounded off the post and into his path, to crash the ball past helpless goalkeeper Thakasani Mbanjwa.
That was the way it stayed until half-time with Santos leading 2-0, but there was no respite for the South African side as Santos kept on piling on the pressure.
Diogo Cruz got his side’s third after a brilliant counter-attack from their own penalty box that cut the home side defence in two and the Santos forward was able to round Mbanjwa and score with the easiest of finishes.
It was a similar story for the fourth goal as South Africa again lost possession and after a quick break, Fernando Silva crashed the ball home.
John Furtado barely had a save to make in the Santos goal all game in what was a clinical performance from the Brazilian side.
Feyenoord put in a solid display against Everton to win 2-1, though the Young Toffees will feel slightly aggrieved having hit the woodwork on a number of occasions and created the better chances.
Two goals from forward Djazz Manusama were enough to give the Dutch team the win, while Everton did equalise following a superb goal from the lively Delial Brewster. Everton will now be playing just for pride in their final game against the South Africa U-19 side having also slipped to defeat in their opener against Santos.
Monday will see Group A conclude at the Princess Magogo Stadium with Roma needing just a point from their clash with Boca Juniors to ensure their passage into the semi-finals.
Should Boca Juniors win and Benfica beat the KZN Academy XI, it will mean a three-way tie at the top of the pool with goal-difference needed to separate the teams.
The top two sides in each pool after the round-robin phase advance to the semi-finals, with the final to be staged at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on August 9.
The eLAN Durban U-19 International Football Tournament is in its inaugural year and is a partnership between the South African Football Association, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, eThekwini Municipality and Hoy Park Management.
-------------------------