Argentina and Uruguay defeated Italy 1-0 this morning, June 12, to win the 2023 U20 World Cup, ending four consecutive European teams winning this youth tournament.
Uruguay U20 dances and celebrates around the U20 World Cup. Photo: AUF
The only goal was scored in the 86th minute with a close-range header from 19-year-old striker Luciano Rodriguez. The South American representative dominated the entire match against Italy and deservedly won.
In front of 40,000 spectators at Diego Maradona Stadium, Italy could not trouble the Uruguayan defense - a team that had only conceded three goals since the start of the tournament, all in a 2-3 defeat to England. Cesare Casadei - the tournament's top scorer with seven goals - was completely silent against the South American defense.
On the contrary, Uruguay had consecutive chances to open the score with Rodriguez's free kick, two long-range shots by captain Fabricio Diaz and Anderson Duarte's header, but goalkeeper Sebastiano Desplanches continuously made miraculous saves.
Italy U20 coach Carmine Nunziata admitted Uruguay played well, but blamed the poor quality of the pitch. "Playing on this pitch is like punishment for any player with great technique," he said at a press conference after the final.
Uruguay and Italy are not on the list of candidates to win the tournament, but they have an advantage over Brazil, Argentina or England because their clubs do not have difficulty releasing players because the tournament is outside the FIFA calendar.
Luciano Rodriguez celebrates scoring the goal that helped Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 in the final of the 2023 U20 World Cup. Photo: AUF
Uruguay won the title for the first time after finishing second in 1997 and 2013. The last South American winner was Brazil in 2011, after which Europe dominated as France, Serbia, England and Ukraine took the title.
Earlier, Israel defeated South Korea 3-1 at La Plata to win third place.
Indonesia was originally chosen to host the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, but was stripped of the hosting rights due to political reasons when it refused to accept Israel's participation. FIFA decided to transfer the hosting rights to Argentina just a month before the opening day.
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