Dutch second tier represented as Morocco win U20 World Cup | OneFootball

Morocco’s Under-20 team won the World Youth Championship on Sunday night, defeating Argentina 2-0 in Chile. The victory had a Dutch touch with Ismael Baouf (SC Cambuur) and Ilias Boumassaoudi (FC Den Bosch) taking part.

The Belgian-born Baouf started in the heart of Morocco’s backline, while striker Boumassaoudi came on 15 minutes before the end. It was the fifth substitute appearance for the player who scored three times in five matches for Den Bosch in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie this season. Baouf didn’t miss a single match at the World Youth Championship. He also made five appearances for Cambuur this season.

Yassir Zabiri of Portugal’s FC Famalicão was the match-winner, scoring twice. This brought his total to five goals, the same as Benja Cremaschi of the United States, Lucas Michal of France, and Neiser Villarreal of Colombia. Cremaschi also provided two assists, earning him the Golden Boot as top scorer.

Zabiri opened the match in the 12th minute with a beautiful free-kick before scoring again 15 minutes later with a close-range finish after an Othmane Maamma cross. Incidentally, Watford’s Maamma had already been named Player of the Tournament before the final.

This is the first time Morocco’s Under-20 team have won a World Cup. Their victory is even more impressive, given that Argentina hold the record for champions in this category, having previously won six titles. Morocco are the second African country to achieve this success, after Ghana in 2009.

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield