The
inaugural edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup finally kicked off in 1977,
marking the birth of a new global tournament with the fewest matches ever
recorded in its history.
Ahead of
2025 FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, which begins at the end of September. There
is no better time than today to reflect on the origins of the competition.
Known back
then as the World Youth Championship, the tournament was established for
players under the age of 20 and was the brainchild of Irish FIFA vice president Harry Cavan. A passionate advocate for football development beyond its
traditional heartlands, Cavan envisioned a tournament that would give emerging
football nations—particularly across Asia and Africa—a genuine platform on the
world stage.
That vision
came to life in Tunisia, the host of the very first edition. Situated in North
Africa and part of the Arab world, Tunisia symbolised FIFA's desire to spread
the beautiful game beyond Europe and South America.
1977 U-20 World Cup: Key Facts and
Figures
As the first
tournament of its kind, the 1977 edition came with a number of unique
characteristics that set it apart from all future iterations:
* Held from
27 June to 10 July 1977, the tournament featured 16 teams, split into four
groups.
* Each match
only lasted 80 minutes (2 X 40 minutes), based on the regulation at that time,
with 20 minutes extra time prior to the shootout.
* Only 28
matches were played in total—the lowest in the competition's history.
* Each group
winner advanced directly to the semi-finals, bypassing any knockout round.
* The
tournament was hosted across three Tunisian cities: Tunis, Sousse, and Sfax.
*
Representation was relatively balanced among the confederations, each sending
two or three teams, with the exception of Europe, which fielded six.
* UEFA's
selection process raised eyebrows. While four European semi-finalists from the
continental championship qualified on merit, Italy—who finished bottom of the
group—and Austria, who did not even qualify for the U19 European Championship
in the previous year, were shockingly given the spot. At the time, UEFA did not
yet have a play-off system for the best second or third-placed teams unlike
today.
* Morocco
took part in place of Egypt, who had originally qualified but did not take part
in the competition after boycotting the final of the 1976 African U-20
Championship. Egypt withdrew in protest of a controversial penalty decision in
favour of Côte d’Ivoire.
Soviet Union Crowned the First
Champions
Eastern
European powerhouse Soviet Union claimed the honour of being the tournament’s
first champions. The winners of the UEFA U-20 Championship battled to the very
end—defeating Mexico 9-8 on penalties in the final, after a 2-2 draw in a the
normal plus extra time. Volodymyr Bezsonov bagged a brace to put his team back on the level term twice after conceded from Fernando Garduno and Agustin Ponce. Saddly, young Sombrero missed the penalty twice, including one from the goalscorer, Garduno.
Led by
captain Andrey Bal, the USSR remained unbeaten throughout the competition. They
opened their campaign with a 3-1 win over Iraq and a 2-1 victory against
Paraguay, before playing out a goalless draw with Austria. In the semi-final,
they edged out Uruguay in a penalty shootout (4-3), again following a goalless
stalemate.
Tournament Summary
Group stage final standings (the ones in bold progressed to the next round)
|
Grup A |
Grup B |
Grup C |
Grup D |
|
Mexico |
Uruguay |
Brasil |
USSR |
|
Spain |
Honduras |
Iran |
Paraguay |
|
France |
Hungary |
Italy |
Iraq |
|
Tunisia |
Morocco |
Ivory Coast |
Austria |
** = penalties
Semifinal:
-
Mexico vs Brasil 1-1 (5-3)**
-
Uruguay vs USSR 0-0 (3-4)**
Third-place Playoff : Brasil vs Uruguay 4-0
Final: USSR vs Mexico 2-2 (9-8)**
Top scorer: Guina (Brasil) – 4 gol
MVP: Vladimir Bessonov (USSR)
From Youth to Stardom
Several
players who featured in the 1977 edition would go on to shine at senior level
in the years to come. The tournament not only laid the foundation for global youth football, but also served as a launchpad for future stars. Here are those
best alumni from this tournament edition.
|
Players
|
The
senior World Cup editions they made appearances |
|
Bernard
Genghini (France) |
1982,
1986 |
|
Enrique
Zarza (Mexico) |
1978 |
|
Santiago
Urquiaga (Spain) |
1982 |
|
Ricardo
Gallego (Spain) |
1982,
1986 |
|
Hussein
Saeed (Iraq) |
1986 |
|
Sergei
Baltacha (USSR) |
1982 |
|
Andrey
Bal (USSR) |
1982,
1986 |
|
Volodymyr
Bessonov (USSR) |
1982,
1986, 1990 |
|
Vagiz
Khidiyatullin (USSR) |
1990 |
|
Julio
Cesar Arzu (Honduras) |
1982 |
|
Hector
Zelaya (Honduras) |
1982 |
|
Ramon
Maradiaga (Honduras) |
1982 |
|
Allan
Costly (Honduras) |
1982 |
|
Prudencio
Norales (Honduras) |
1982 |
|
Gilberto
Yearwood (Honduras) |
1982 |
|
Porifio
Bentacourt (Honduras) |
1982 |
|
Fernando
Alvez (Uruguay) |
1986,
1990 |
|
Eliseo
Rivero (Uruguay) |
1986 |
|
Victor
Diogo (Uruguay) |
1986 |
|
Mario
Saralegui (Uruguay) |
1986 |
|
Ruben
Paz (Uruguay) |
1986,
1990 |
|
Edevaldo
(Brasil) |
1982 |
|
Giovanni
Galli (Italy) |
1986 |
|
Guiseppe
Baresi (Italy) |
1986 |
|
Antonio
Di Gennaro (Italy) |
1986 |
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