2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup final

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The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup final was the final match and culmination of the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, hosted by Canada. The match was played at the BMO Field in Toronto on 22 July 2007, and was contested by Argentina and the Czech Republic, being the seventh final for Argentina and the first for the Czechs. The match was won by Argentina 2–1, obtaining their sixth FIFA U-20 World Cup and becoming the most successful team at the tournament.

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup final
The BMO Field in 2012
Event2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
Czech Republic Argentina
1 2
Date22 July 2007
VenueBMO Field, Toronto
Man of the MatchSergio Agüero (Argentina)
RefereeAlberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Attendance19,526

Background

At the 2007 World Cup, Argentina U-20 was seeking the back-to-back trophy, having previously won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, where a Messi-led team defeated Nigeria 2–1 in the final. In 2007, then Atlético Madrid striker Sergio Agüero captained the team. For the Czechs, the final in Toronto marked their first final at a FIFA U-20 World Cup since appearing as an independent country for the first time in the 2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, and remains, to October 2025, as their country's best performance at a youth tournament.

Both Argentina and the Czech Republic were pooled into Group E, facing each other in the first match of the group, which ended in a goalless draw. Argentina went on to crush Panama 6–0 and narrowly defeat North Korea 1–0, while the Czechs' game with North Korea ended in a 2–2 draw, to later defeat Panama 2–1 in the group's last match day. Argentina advanced to the round of 16 with seven points, while the Czech Republic secured the second place. Both North Korea and Panama were eliminated in that first round.

The road to the final was harder for Czechia than for Argentina. In the round of 16, the Czechs advanced to the next round after a hard-fought match against Japan, eventually defeating them by penalties. In the quarter-finals, Czechia held another draw, this time with Spain. By scoring the first four penalty kicks, the Czechs advanced to the semifinals, where they defeated Austria 2–0.

Argentina, on the other side, defeated Poland in the round of 16 (3–1), Mexico in the quarter-finals by a margin of 1–0, and the hosts Chile by a score of 3–0 in a controversial and tense match which ended with Chilean players confronting the match's official, German referee Wolfgang Stark, and later clashing with Toronto police, which left some of the Chilean players pepper-sprayed, tasered, and briefly arrested by Canadian police. The match reached diplomacy when Chilean President Michelle Bachelet filed a complaint against the Canadian government and protests took place in Santiago against the alleged repression and racism of Canadian police. The Canadian embassy in Santiago received a bomb threat and security around the building was upgraded. Prime Minister Stephen Harper minimized the issue and didn't comment further.

Match

The final match took place at the BMO Field in Toronto, with an attendance of 19,526, and the officiating of Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco, who was assisted on the lines by fellow Spaniards Fermín Martínez Núñez and Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez. Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov was assigned as the fourth referee.

A total of ten yellow cards were shown by Undiano Mallenco, six to the Czechs and four to the Argentines. More than 20 faults were committed by both teams, while ball possession was largely positive for Argentina, ending the match with 61% against 39% of possession for the Europeans. The first half was largely uneventful, with the score opening in 60th minute, when Captain Martin Fenin put the Czechs in a brief advantage, as Sergio Agüero equalized two minutes later. The match turned in favor of Argentina in the 86th minute, when forward Mauro Zárate scored the 2–1 for the albicelestes.

John F. Molinaro of CBC News highlighted the contrast between both teams, noting the differences in styles, adjudicating "grit" to the Czechs and "flair" to the Argentines. Molinaro also said that the Czechs played a physical game while Argentina relied on a flurry of quick and short passes to advance in the field.

Argentina became the most-successful team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup by achieving their sixth title, having won all of their finals in the category except for one.

Road to the final

Argentina Round Czech Republic
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
 Czech Republic 0–0 Match 1  Argentina 0–0
 Panama 6–0 Match 2  North Korea 2–2
 North Korea 1–0 Match 3  Panama 2–1
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Argentina 3 2 1 0 7 0 +7 7
 Czech Republic 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
 North Korea 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
 Panama 3 0 1 2 1 8 −7 1
Final standing
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Argentina 3 2 1 0 7 0 +7 7
 Czech Republic 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
 North Korea 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
 Panama 3 0 1 2 1 8 −7 1
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
 Poland 3–1 Round of 16  Japan 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)
 Mexico 1–0 Quarter-finals  Spain 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)
 Chile 3–0 Semi-finals  Austria 2–0

Details

Czech Republic 1–2 Argentina
Fenin 60'
  • Agüero 62'
  • Zárate 86'
National Soccer Stadium, Toronto
Attendance: 19,526
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Czech Republic
Argentina

Man of the Match:
Sergio Agüero (Argentina)

Assistant referees:
Fermín Martínez Ibáñez (Spain)
Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez (Spain)
Fourth official:
Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Match rules:

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.

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