Argentina’s journey in U20 World Cup finals | OneFootball

Led by Diego Placente, the Argentina U-20 National Team will return to a World Cup final after defeating Colombia 1-0. With favorable statistics, they will seek a new conquest in their eighth final.

The “Albiceleste” are the most successful in the category, having won six World Cups and now looking for more in the match that will take place next Sunday at 8 p.m.

The first trophy came at the 1979 Japan World Cup, led by a stellar Diego Armando Maradona and the goals of Ramón Díaz. The team coached by César Luis Menotti (who the previous year won the senior World Cup) was crowned after defeating the Soviet Union at Tokyo’s National Stadium.

The USSR struck first with a goal by Igor Ponomarev in the 52nd minute. However, Argentina’s response was devastating: in the 68th, Hugo Alves leveled the score; three minutes later, Ramón Díaz made it 2-1; and the finishing touch came from Maradona in the 76th for the final 3-1 with a great free kick.

The second joy took its time, but arrived in 1995 and marked a turning point. It took 16 years for Argentina to lift the trophy again. Under José Néstor Pékerman, a master in youth development, the Albiceleste began their golden era in Qatar 1995.

In the final, the opponent was Brazil, the eternal rival. With a display of collective play and discipline, Argentina won 2-0 at the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan. Leonardo Biagini opened the scoring in the 25th minute and Francisco Guerrero sealed it in the 89th.

The sporting success continued, as two years later, in Malaysia 1997, under Pekerman, Argentina won their third world title (second in a row).

With a new crop of talented youngsters like Juan Román Riquelme, Pablo Aimar, Esteban Cambiasso, Diego Placente (current U-20 coach) and Lionel Scaloni (senior coach and reigning world champion), the team showed that the game plan had been perfectly absorbed.

The final was a thrilling River Plate classic against Uruguay. Midfielder Pablo García put the Uruguayans ahead in the 15th with a precise free kick, but Argentina’s response was swift: Esteban Cambiasso equalized in the 26th and Diego Quintana, in the 43rd minute of the first half, sealed the 2-1 at the Shah Alam Stadium to retain the title.

The 2001 edition had a special flavor, as it was played in Argentina and the “Albiceleste” did not disappoint. Playing at home in 2001, and with a memorable team that included Javier Saviola (Golden Ball and Silver Boot), Andrés D’Alessandro, Leandro Romagnoli, Nicolás Burdisso and Willy Caballero, the Albiceleste captivated their fans.

The final was against Ghana at Vélez Sarsfield’s stadium, with a resounding 3-0 thanks to goals by Diego Colotto (6′), Javier Saviola (14′) and Maximiliano Rodríguez (73′) for the fourth title, a mark that allowed them to surpass Brazil as the all-time leading winners. The coach was Pekerman once again.

After Pékerman’s promotion to the senior team, Francisco Ferraro took the reins and in Netherlands 2005 a player who would change football history announced himself to the world. Lionel Messi, with a stellar performance that earned him the Golden Ball and Golden Boot (6 goals), was the standout figure.

The path to the title included six wins and just one loss. The final was a thrilling 2-1 victory over Nigeria at Utrecht’s Stadion Galgenwaard, with a brace of penalties from the “Pulga”: the first in the 40th to open the scoring, the African equalizer in the 53rd by Chinedu Obasi, and the decisive 2-1 in the 75th.

The sixth star arrived in Canada 2007, with Hugo Tocalli as coach. The main protagonist was Sergio “Kun” Agüero, who took home the Golden Ball and Golden Boot, just like Messi two years earlier (6 goals).

With Ángel Di María, Éver Banega, Sergio Romero and Federico Fazio as other pillars, Argentina remained unbeaten with six wins and one draw.

In the final, played at Toronto’s BMO Field, the opponent was Czech Republic. Martin Fenin put the Czechs ahead in the 60th, but once again, the Albiceleste showed their mettle: Sergio Agüero equalized two minutes later (62′) and Mauro Zárate, four minutes from time (86′), gave Argentina the final 2-1 and their sixth and, to date, last U-20 world title.

1983 the only final Argentina has lost

The history of the Argentina National Team in U-20 World Cups is one of absolute dominance. However, there is a single blemish in that record of finals won: the decider of the Mexico 1983 edition, where the Albiceleste fell to their eternal rival, Brazil.

That tournament, played on Mexican soil, saw Argentina, coached by Carlos Pachamé, lose the final to a goal scored by Brazilian midfielder Geovani Silva, in the 39th minute, which made it a definitive 1-0.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.