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1977 FIFA U-20 World Cup: A Modest Beginning for a Global Stage

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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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