With global glory at stake for the players, the U20 world cup was filled with exciting action from Chile. Now that the U-20 Men’s World Cup is finally over, let’s look back at the special moments that have happened throughout the tournament.
The group stage was filled with numerous wonderful goals and results to behold. In Group A, Japan dominated, winning all three games, with the hosts, Chile, barely scraping through over Egypt. In Group B, Ukraine topped the group with Paraguay slightly edging out over South Korea. In Group C, Morocco was at the top, and Mexico barely advanced over Spain. In Group D, it was the current World Cup holders, Argentina, going three for three in the group, and Italy following them to the knockout stage. The tightest group so far was Group E, which had a three-way tie for first place, but only two could advance, which were the United States and South Africa, barely edging over France with 1 extra goal, unfortunately leaving New Caledonia with no points at the bottom of the group. Finally, Group F saw Norway and Colombia advancing with five points each. Alongside these twelve, the four best third place teams got one last chance to prove their worth and get a spot in the knockout stages. These were France, Spain, South Korea, and Nigeria.
The knockout stage started with the round of sixteen. One game, one result. If you lose? You’re out. The first matchup was Ukraine and Spain, with Spain securing a 1-0 win over the Ukrainians. The next matchup was between Colombia and South Africa, with Colombia advancing, winning 3-1. Next up, the hosts Chile and Mexico, which had Mexico securing a dominant 4-1 win, sending the hosts packing. Who would face them was decided between Argentina and Nigeria, and Argentina dominated and secured a strong 4-0 win. Paraguay and Norway was a tough game to call, but Norway scraped through 1-0. The Japanese dominated Group A, going 3 for 3, but ended up losing to the 3rd place French team, who barely scraped through 1-0. The last 2 matches had the USA winning comfortably 3-0 over Italy and Morocco beating South Korea 2-1.
The quarterfinals were on with eight countries, competing for four tickets to the semi-finals. Teams lost heartbreakingly against others. The first tie was between Spain and Colombia. This game saw Colombia taking an early lead but losing it to Spain within three minutes. Still, in the 89th minute, Colombia came back from behind and scored a winner thanks to Neiser Villareal securing a hat-trick and a 3-2 win, sending Colombia to the Semifinals. Next up was Argentina against Mexico, with Argentina winning 2-0 comfortably. Norway and France were next, and the 3rd place French won 2-1 but almost threw it away, conceding a late goal to the Norwegians. Finally, Morocco and the USA. Two powerhouses, one ticket. That ticket went to the Moroccans, who secured a 3-1 win over the Americans.
Two more matches for the finals were secured. The two losing teams face each other for 3rd place. The winners go on to the Finals in Santiago. The first match was between two South American giants, Colombia and Argentina. Colombia came out firing, but the first goal was scored by Argentina from Mateo Silvetti in the 72nd minute. Unfortunately, despite all their efforts, Colombia was eliminated after a heartbreaking 1-0 loss. The other game was the only game where the teams, the third-place French team and the African powerhouses, Morocco, couldn’t be separated. Morocco struck first thanks to an “own goal” from Lisandru Olmeta in the 32nd minute. The French later equalized thanks to Lucas Michal in the 59th minute. They couldn’t be separated after that. In extra time, the French had to play with 10 men after Rabby Nzingoula got sent off the field. A penalty shootout had to split the teams, and after four perfect penalties on the last penalty of the game, the French were eliminated after Djylian N’Guessan missed his penalty.
The last two games were no less entertaining. In the third-place game between Colombia and France, Colombia dominated the game with a light 1-0 win, not even allowing a shot on target for the French. In the second minute, the only goal was scored by Colombia’s Oscar Perea. Colombia won the game and took home 3rd place in the World Cup. France’s Cinderella story from barely scraping through to the knockouts to getting 4th place will be a moment of history in the U20 World Cup. Last but certainly not least, the final was between World Cup champions Argentina and Morocco. This game was for all the marbles; international glory on the line. The game started strongly with Argentina dominating the whole game. They had 19 shots to Morocco’s eight. The stats backed up Argentina’s dominance, but the Moroccans won thanks to a first-half double from Moroccan wonderkid Yassir Zabiri. Argentina dominated the game but ended up losing to the African nation 2-0 in Santiago.
The U20 World Cup is unfortunately over, but after 24 teams entered, only one prevailed: Morocco. This World Cup was a fraction of the size of the FIFA Men’s World Cup that will be hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada in June and July of 2026. Will Argentina be able to defend their title earned in Qatar, or will there be a new world champion like the electrifying Spanish, led by Wonderkid Lamine Yamal? Will it be the star-studded French, will it come home to England, will Brazil claim their throne for the 6th time in history? Will there be a new champion from Asia, Africa, or even North America, or would it be the Colombians after taking a break from the last one? Only time will tell us as the teams meet at MetLife in July 2026.
