The record-breaking FIFA U-20 World Cup wrapped up in Toronto on Sunday with two highly entertaining games. The South Americans came out ahead of the Europeans as Argentina defended their title, beating the Czechs 2–1 and the Chileans winning third place over Austria 1–0.
South American domination in this tournament is nothing new. With Argentina winning its sixth title and Brazil having won four, South American teams have won a total of 10 out of the 16 U-20 tournaments to date. Recently, the domination has been more pronounced with South America winning seven of the last eight tournaments.
Argentine coach Hugo Tocalli credited the strong Argentine league for developing his players at the under-20 level. Teenagers play a greater role in the Argentine league—you can't say the same for the top European leagues.
Canada officially set the record for FIFA U-20 World Cup attendance with the sold-out semifinal between Argentina and Chile on Thursday night. The competition drew almost 1.2 million fans, surpassing the previous record set in Mexico in 1983.
All About Argentina
Having had the pleasure to watch all of Argentina's group stage games in Ottawa, I knew I was seeing something special. Even though Argentina began with a scoreless draw against the Czechs, you knew that if they started clicking, they'd blow teams away.
Sure enough, Argentina pummeled Panama 6–0 in their second match as Sergio Aguero and Maxi Moralez each scored two. Aguero would claim the golden boot as the tournament's top scorer with six goals, while the 5 foot 3 inch Morales would get the bronze shoe with four goals.
Argentina won their group, dismantled Poland, and then squeaked by Mexico 1–0. Unfortunately, their semifinal against Chile was tainted by controversial officiating. Nevertheless, one had to feel that the better team won.
Against the Czechs, Argentina was stifled in the first half but fought back from a goal down to take the title. In the end, Argentina had too much class and tenacity for everybody else.
In addition to singling out Aguero and Moralez, two other players stood out. Giant central defender Federico Fazio was a rock as Argentina allowed only two goals in seven games. Ever Banega, the midfield general, did it all. His tireless work rate, excellent passing skills, and tenacity gave Argentina the quarterback it bases its teams around. Moralez also had an important role to play in the central midfield, it should be noted.
Soccer is the beautiful game. Canadians had the chance to witness first hand how the game is played by the world's top nations at the under-20 level. Obviously, Canada has a long way to go before they can match up with likes of the Argentines and Czechs. Canada failed to score, marking the only time in tournament history a host nation hasn't scored a goal while losing every match.
But the interest generated in this country can't be denied. Things can only get better for Canadian soccer after hosting a show like this.
The U.S. was impressive in the group stage, upstaging Brazil and thrashing Poland. After the group stage, Freddy Adu was on top of the world. But after barely squeaking by Uruguay in round 16, the Americans ran into a tactically superior Austrian team.
The U.S. had to be disappointed with their performance although they did score 2.4 goals per game, which was second best behind Spain.
What a terrific three weeks of soccer it has been in Canada.
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