waroffutbol

  The 1997 U20 World Cup in Malaysia marked a new era for FIFA’s youth showpiece, with a significant expansion in the number of participants.   For the first time, the tournament grew from 16 to 24 teams, a format that remains to this day. It also meant the knockout stages began in the round of 16, with the four best third-placed sides joining the top two from each group. The 1997 Tournament in Numbers   * Played between 16 June and 5 July. * Six host cities: Shah Alam, Kuantan, Kangar, Johor Bahru, Alor Setar and Kuching. * With the exception of UEFA, every confederation was handed more slots. Asia, Africa and CONCACAF doubled their representation from two to four, while South America gained one extra spot. Oceania, meanwhile, received an automatic berth. * Four debutants made the stage: Belgium, South Africa, the UAE and hosts Malaysia. Argentina Won Back-to-Back Argentina followed in the footsteps of Brazil and Portugal by becoming just the third nat...

The 1995 U-20 World Cup marked the beginning of an era of dominance for Latino football, not only for South American giants Brazil and Argentina but also for Latin-influenced nations in Europe. From this edition onwards, their supremacy at youth level became clear, lasting for more than a decade—twelve years in total—with Argentina leading the charge. Their 1995 triumph was the start of a run of four further titles under the tutelage of José Pékerman, the underrated key figure in building a Argentina football dynasty through their youth teams. In many ways, the seeds of Argentina’s World Cup triumph in 2022 were first sown here.   Facts and Figures: FIFA U-20 World Cup 1995 The tournament was originally awarded to Nigeria but had to be relocated due to a meningitis outbreak. It was the second time Nigeria had been forced to relinquish hosting rights, following their withdrawal in 1991. That was just one of several striking aspects of Qatar 1995, the third successive tournamen...