Skip to main content

1983 U20 World Cup – When Stadiums Were Packed with Fans

Image
By

 


The 1983 U20 World Cup is remembered for its success in drawing huge crowds to the stadiums, just like senior-level tournaments.

 Youth World Cup had generally struggled to attract fans to attend matches and support their countries — something almost unthinkable in senior international tournaments. That was the case in the first three editions. However, the 1983 U20 World Cup managed to break that trend. The average attendance per match reached 36,099 spectators, a record that still stands today. In some games, more than 100,000 fans turned up to watch their teams live.

Facts and Figures from the 1983 U20 World Cup

 The 1983 edition had its own share of interesting facts, just like those before and after. Here are the highlights from the first junior world cup held in the Americas:

* The tournament took place from 2 to 19 June with 16 teams divided into four groups.

* A total of 32 matches were played throughout the tournament.

* The host cities were Guadalajara, Mexico City, León, Irapuato, Monterrey, Toluca, and Puebla.

* Europe was represented by the semifinalists of the UEFA U18 Championship plus two group runners-up, determined by points, goals scored, and aggregate difference. They were Scotland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union, with the Netherlands and Austria qualifying as the two best runners-up.

* The USA youth team took part in place of Honduras, winners of the 1982 CONCACAF U20 Championship, who were disqualified.

Two CONMEBOL Classic Rivals Shine

Two South American rivals, Brazil and Argentina, stole the spotlight in this edition. Both marched into the final unbeaten, delivering impressive performances along the way. La Albiceleste did not concede a single goal in the group stage. Jorge Borelli and teammates continued their strong run in the knockouts, defeating the Netherlands — led by rising star Marco van Basten — 2–1 in the quarter-finals, before edging past Poland 1–0 in the semi-finals.

Brazil’s young side was equally dominant. After going undefeated in the group stage, Carlos Dunga and Co thrashed Czechoslovakia 4–1 in the quarter-finals and overcame South Korea — who had shocked hosts Mexico and Uruguay earlier — 2–1 in the semis.

Unfortunately, the much-anticipated final between the two giants produced few goals. In front of 110,000 fans at the Azteca Stadium, the Seleção youth team narrowly defeated their fierce rivals 1–0. Geovanni scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot in the 39th minute. Brazil were crowned champions, claiming their first-ever U20 World Cup title in 1983.

Tournament Highlights

 Group Stage final standings (The one in bold advanced to the knockout stage)

Group A

Group B

Group C

Grup D

Scotland

Uruguay

Argentina

Brasil

South Korea

Poland

Czechoslovakia

Netherlands

Australia

USA

PRC

Nigeria

Mexico

Ivory Coast

Austria

USSR

** = penalties

* = extra time

 Quarterfinals:

-          Scotland vs Poland 0-1

-          Uruguay vs South Korea 1-2*

-          Argentina vs Netherlands 2-1

-          Brasil vs Czechoslovakia 4-1

 Semifinal:

-          Poland vs Argentina 0-1

-          South Korea vs Brasil 1-2

3rd Place Playoff: Poland vs South Korea 2-1*

Final: Brasil vs Argentina 1-0

Top scorer: Geovani Faria (Brasil) – 6 gol

MVP: Geovani Faria (Brasil)  

From Youth to Stardom

Compared to the previous three editions, quite a number of star players emerged from Mexico 1983. Among them were Marco van Basten and Gerald Vanenburg, who became key figures in the Netherlands’ Euro 1988 triumph; Dunga, Bebeto, and Jorginho, who played major roles in Brazil’s 1994 World Cup victory; Austria’s prolific striker of the 1990s, Toni Polster; the Soviet Union’s main forward, Oleg Protasov; and Mexico’s leading striker at USA 1994, Luis García.

Here is the list of players from the 1983 U20 World Cup who also became key figures at senior level:

Players

World Cup Edition (senior)

Kim Pan-Keun (South Korea)

1994

Yoo Byung-ok (South Korea)

1986

Kim Jong-boo (South Korea)

1986

Marcelino Bernal (Mexico)

1994, 1998

Luis Garcia (Mexico)

1994

Miguel Espana (Mexico)

1986

Paul McStay (Scotland)

1986, 1990

Dave McPherson (Scotland)

1990

Bebeto (Brasil)

1990, 1994, 1998

Dunga (Brasil)

1990, 1994. 1998

Jorginho (Brasil)

1990, 1994

Marco Van Basten (Netherlands)

1990

John Van’t Schip (Netherlands)

1990

Gerald Vanenburg (Netherlands)

1990

Pavlo Yakovenko (USSR)

1986

Oleg Protasov (USSR)

1988, 1990

Stanislav Cherchesov (Rusia)

1994

Gustavo Dezzotti (Argentina)

1990

Luis Islas (Argentina)

1994

Jorge Borelli (Argentina)

1994

Andreas Orgis (Austria)

1990

Toni Polster (Austria)

1990, 1998

Ivan Hasek (Czechoslovakia)

1990

Lubos Kubik (Czechoslovakia)

1990

Paul Caligiuri (USA)

1990, 1994

Hugo Perez (USA)

1994

Tab Ramos (USA)

1990, 1994

Ruben Sosa (Uruguay)

1990

Jose Saldanha (Uruguay)

1990

Jose Salazar (Uruguay)

1986

Carlos Aguilera (Uruguay)

1986, 1990

 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Players who Returned to the National Team after a Long Absence

By
  A few notable players still managed to earn another national team call-up despite being nearly forgotten and their long absence in international fixtures. The international break is back on schedule this week. Some teams will only play friendly matches to prepare for upcoming summer events such as EURO 2024 and Copa America USA 2024, which take place practically in the same period, June to July. Meanwhile, some others will have to go through the playoff rounds to fight for the last berths in both competitions. In this crucial stage, either as a final stage of preparation or the playoffs, the teams that have not been entirely confident with the available players in their national team pool decide to call up veteran figures or even forgotten names to help their international campaign one last time. They can be a handful to boost the team’s form with their long experience in the final round, either as the team’s first choice in the lineup or simply as a substitute on the bench. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Best UEFA World Cup Playoffs in history

By
  Several World Cup playoffs in Europe can be considered the best and most entertaining ones in history. The UEFA 2026 FIFA World Cup playoffs have always been the most anticipated one in every World Cup edition. In the current one, the playoffs are set to be staged on March 26 to 31 for the remaining four regional berths. 16 teams will be fighting for those spots, 10 of which are from Eastern Europe. Unsurprisingly, the four-time World Cup winner, Italy, once again has to go through this stage following their dismal results in the qualifiers. The other two sides are the dark horses, Denmark and Turkey. All those 16 teams are divided into four paths, with each leading to one ticket to North America. Each team will be playing in the best four format with the final at the end of each path. They are determined through draws and their positions in the qualifiers and the last editions of the UEFA Nations League. Such a system was only introduced in the early 2020s, with Qatar 20...
Post a Comment
Read more

1966 FIFA World Cup, Synonymous with Fortune

By
  The 1966 World Cup returned to European soil, and this edition became synonymous with an air of fortune — not only for the hosts, but also for the debutants. It was the first World Cup staged in an English-speaking nation. The homeland of Queen Elizabeth was chosen as host at the FIFA Congress on 22 August 1960, defeating West Germany and Spain. Even before the tournament began, FIFA and the organising committee were thrown into turmoil by the disappearance of the Jules Rimet Trophy. To make matters worse, FIFA did not possess a replica, given the uniqueness of the original prize. Fortunately, the trophy was recovered just four months before kick-off — and remarkably, it was not found by the authorities, but by a dog named Pickles . In hindsight, it proved to be the first stroke of luck in a tournament filled with fortunate twists. 1966 World Cup Fun Facts   England 1966 produced several distinctive facts compared to previous editions. Here are some notable highlights ...
Post a Comment
Read more