Skip to main content

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

Image
By

 


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

 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Players thriving under their father/manager at the club and earn immediate international cap

By
  A few players have been fortunate in his career when they emerge to stardom under his father who happens to be the manager of their club. Football runs deep and certainly can run in the family. There have been a number of players who play for the team alongside their brothers or under their father as the team boss.  Not all manage to break into the first team under their fathers. Recently, one of Argentina internationals thrives under his father/manager at the club has been the regular member of Albiceleste squad. He is none but Guiliano Simeone , the son of Atletico Madrid boss, Diego . He owed his recent prominence to his father. He joined Los Rojiblancos initially in the reserve team before spending his loan spells in two Segunda Division sides, Alaves and Real Zaragoza before eventually being promoted to the first team last season. The right winger has been indispensable in Metropolitan with 67 appearances so far, registering eight goals and 14 assists. He e...
Post a Comment
Read more

The European Elite Teams’ Banter Era in Modern Football

By
  Each of Europe's elite teams has their own 'banter era' in modern football, during which they failed to win any prestigious titles. The 'Banter Era' is defined as a period in which a football team goes through difficult years without winning a notable top title, such as a league title or a continental top flight championship. In this era, teams consistently underperform, producing disappointing results and campaigns. In Europe, almost all elite sides and the powerhouses in the top five league, have experienced such a ‘dark age’, except perhaps Bayern Munich. Some clubs managed to end it before deteriorating , whereas others had to struggle for years before finally putting an end to their misery. Recently, more than one elite clubs have found themselves in the midst of such an unwanted era. Italian giant, Juventus, French side, Olympique Marseille, the Dutch powerhouse, Ajax Amsterdam and last but not least, the once great side, Manchester United. Among those...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Dominant Sides who rule certain decades in South America

By
  A number of clubs have managed to rule certain decades in South American football history, including the two current Copa Libertadores finalists.  The Copa Libertadores 2025 final has finally seen two teams meeting at the summit. It is yet again the encounter of two Brazilian sides in the final, which is already the fifth in the last seven editions. Palmeiras and Flamengo face off again in the final, which is the repeat of the 2021 edition. At that time, the Sao Paulo-based side managed to thump their local rival 2-1.  Will the result be the same in Abel Ferreira’s favour, or will it be Felipe Luis’s men who lift the trophy this year? The champion will be decided in Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru, on November29th.  One thing for sure about this year’s final is the clash of two teams which have the potential to rule the decade in the competition. Palmeiras and Flamengo both have won the title twice since the introduction of the single-leg final in 2019, which also...
Post a Comment
Read more