U-20 Men's World Cup final: Uruguay to face Italy
- by Mike Woitalla @MikeWoitalla, Jun 9, 2023
Anderson Duarte scored his third straight gamewinner for Uruguay when in the 61st minute he finished goalkeeper Tomer Zarfati's rebound of a shot by Alan Matturro.
Duarte scored for Uruguay in its 1-0 round-of-16 win over Gambia. He scored Uruguay's first goal against the USA, which gifted the second with on own goal.
June 8 in La Plata, Argentina
Uruguay 1 Israel 0. Goals: Duarte 61.
June 8 in La Plata, Argentina
Italy 2 South Korea 1. Goals: Casadei 14, Pafundi 86; Lee Seung-Won (pen.) 23.
Simone Pafund's brilliant free kick broke Italy's deadlock with South Korea.
None of the semifinalist nations had previously won a U-20 World Cup title.
Under-20 World Cup, champions
Argentina (6) 1979, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007
Brazil (5) 1983, 1985, 1993, 2003, 2011
Portugal (2) 1989, 1991
Ukraine 2019
England 2017
France 2013
Serbia 2015
Ghana 2009
Spain 1999
Yugoslavia 1987
Soviet Union 1977
West Germany 1981
Note: COVID forced the cancellation of the 2021 U-20 World Cup.
June 11 in La Plata, Argentina
Third-place game
Israel-South Korea, 1:30 pm ET
Final
Uruguay—Italy, 5 pm ET
Soccer on TV
Uruguay adjusted tactics as Israel did not play out of back as insistantly as USA. Scoreline does not tell - Uruguay completely dominated the game. Keeper had one vg save at the end as they did not get their 2nd goal - even though they - Uruguay - never really sat back. Watched both games - Italy and Uruguay. USA should have no regrets - both these teams, Italy, which is stacked with players in Serie A - including the 17 y.o. who nailed the free kick, and Uruguay - and Korea also - Israel a bit less - loaded with future talents. Uruguay especially. Insane how hard their front three work - insanity out there - even with Israel kicking a lot of long balls - the front three still reaked havoc on the pitch with their intensit, coordination, and fitness. USA played Uruguay better than Isreal - things did not go our way - we had almost zero luck. For the final - will be a good game to watch Saturday. Two teams that move the ball very quickly and two tactically astute and experience coaches. Chess match. Heart, desire and luck could have a hand in what should be a pretty even game.