Skip to main content

1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup: The Emergence of Portugal

Image
By

 


The 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup marked the dawn of Portugal’s resurgence in world football, as a new generation delivered the nation’s first international title.

Portugal had enjoyed a golden period in the mid-1960s, when Eusébio inspired them to the World Cup semi-finals in 1966, but the national side then faded from prominence. A revival began in the 1980s at club level, with Benfica and Porto reaching European finals—Porto famously winning the European Cup in 1987. The national team also showed promise at Euro 1984, reaching the semi-finals, before suffering a humiliating collapse at the 1986 World Cup amid the “Saltillo scandal.” Failure to qualify for Euro 1988 left Portuguese football in crisis. Against that backdrop, the triumph of Carlos Queiroz’s promising young squad in Saudi Arabia offered a glimpse of a brighter future for the Seleção das Quinas.

Key Facts – 1989 Tournament

 The 1989 edition carried several notable features:

* Held from 16 February to 3 March 1989, with 16 teams divided into four groups.

* Matches were staged across Taif, Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh.

* Europe was represented by six teams: Soviet Union (winners of the 1988 UEFA U-18 Championship), Portugal (runners-up), semi-finalists East Germany and Spain, plus Czechoslovakia and Norway, who won play-offs against fellow quarter-finalists.

* The United States replaced Mexico, who had fielded four overage players at the 1988 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. As punishment, Mexico were banned from all FIFA competitions for two years, missing the 1990 World Cup.

* Unusually, the tournament featured no representative from Oceania. Australia and New Zealand were forced into a play-off against Asian sides Syria and Qatar, the runners-up and third-placed finishers at the 1988 AFC U-20 Championship. Syria emerged victorious to claim the single available slot.

The Remarkable Runs of Iraq, Nigeria and Portugal

 The 1989 tournament produced several surprise packages. Iraq topped Group D ahead of Argentina, Spain and Norway, though their journey ended in the quarter-finals at the hands of the United States.

Nigeria stunned the world with a remarkable run, eliminating heavyweights Soviet Union in the quarter-finals and the United States in the semi-finals to reach their first final.

Portugal, meanwhile, navigated a daunting knockout path. Jorge Couto and his teammates overcame Colombia and then Brazil to book their place in the decider. In the final, the Seleção clinched a 2-0 victory over Nigeria thanks to goals from Abel Silva and Couto, securing a historic triumph that signalled Portugal’s re-emergence on the global stage.

Tournament Highlights

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

Grup A

Grup B

Grup C

Grup D

Portugal

USSR

Brasil

Iraq

Nigeria

Colombia

USA

Argentina

Czechoslovakia

Syria

East Germany

Norway

Saudi Arabia

Costa Rica

Mali

Spain

** = penalties

* = extra time

 Quarterfinal:

-          Portugal vs Colombia 1-0

-          USSR vs Nigeria 4-4 (3-5)**

-          Brasil vs Argentina 1-0

-          Iraq vs AS 1-2

 

Semifinal:

-          Portugal vs Brasil 1-0

-          Nigeria vs USA 2-1 

3rd place Playoff : Brasil vs USA 2-0

Final: Portugal vs Nigeria 2-0

Top Scorer: Oleg Salenko (USSR) – 5 gol

MVP: Bismarck (Brasil)

From Youth to Stardom

The 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup produced a number of players who went on to become stars in the 1990s and early 2000s. Among them was Diego Simeone, former Argentina captain and now manager of Atlético Madrid, as well as Fernando Couto, who shone at Parma and Lazio, and Leonardo, the Brazilian winger who would feature at the 1994 World Cup.

Norway also introduced a promising generation, including Lars Bohinen, Henning Berg and Roar Strand, while the Soviet Union squad contained several figures who later became key players for Russia after the collapse of communism. They included Viktor Onopko, Yuri Nikiforov and Oleg Salenko, the striker who famously finished as top scorer at the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Here are some of the players from the 1989 tournament in Saudi Arabia who went on to establish themselves at senior level.

Players

World Cup editions (senior)

Mutiu Adepoju (Nigeria)

1994, 1998, 2002

Joao Pinto (Portugal)

2002

Fernando Couto (Portugal)

2002

Fahad Al Mehalel (Saudi)

1994, 1998

Ahmed Madani (Saudi)

1994, 1998

Abdullah Al-Dosari (Saudi)

1994

Bismarck (Brasil)

1990

Leonardo (Brasil)

1994, 1998

Steffan Freund (Germany)

1998

Kasey Keller (USA )

1990, 1998, 2002, 2006

Diego Simeone (Argentina)

1994, 1998, 2002

Henning Berg (Norway)

1994, 1998

Lars Bohinen (Norway)

1994

Stig Inge Bjornebye (Norway)

1994, 1998

Roar Strand (Norway)

1994, 1998

Ovyind Leonhardsen (Norway)

1998

Santiago Canizares (Spain)

1998, 2006

Albert Ferrer (Spain)

1994, 1998

Giovanis Cassiani (Colombia)

1990

Jorge Bermundez (Colombia)

1998

Jose Santa (Colombia)

1998

Oscar Cordoba (Colombia)

1994

Ivan Valenciano (Colombia)

1994

Oleg Salenko (Russia)

1994

Omar Tetradze (Russia)

1994

Viktor Onopko (Russia)

1994, 2002

Yuri Nikiforov (Russia)

1994, 2002

Ronald Gonzalez (Costa Rica)

1990

Jose Porras (Costa Rica)

2006

 

 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FIFA World Cup editions with Most Qualified Teams from British Isles

By
  A few FIFA World Cup editions saw several teams from the British Isles qualify in the final round.  The 2026 FIFA World Cup is already around the corner, and all confederations have completed all stages or reached the last stage in the qualifiers. UEFA is getting ready to hold the playoff stage, which will be contested in March next year. These teams will remain unknown in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Draw, which will be held on December 5.  For the British Isles, the World Cup in North America could be historic, as all five teams from there could be playing in the final round. England and Scotland have secured automatic berths, while Wales , Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland still have the chance to seal the remaining berths via playoff. They are all placed in two different pots.  They will be fighting for the two remaining berths. Wales and Northern Ireland could be squaring off in the playoff final pot 1, provided they could see off Bosnia and...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Fun Facts in every Expanded FIFA World Cup in history

By
  Every expanded FIFA World Cup in history has always brought new stories and also changes, including in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup . The 2026 FIFA World Cup has completed the draw with 12 groups of four teams. It is the first time in history with 48 qualified sides. The world football governing body has even officially introduced water breaks in each game regardless of the venue, weather or location .  The upcoming World Cup edition in North America is definitely not the first expanded one. In fact, the tournament has gone through four expansions in history. Each of them brought its own changes and new tales, plus even records.  Here are each expanded edition of the FIFA World Cup, not the ones with the new competition format, along with the fun facts in each and every one of them.   Italy 1934 The second edition of the FIFA World Cup was the first expanded one in the tournament's history. It was the first time the qualifier was introduced to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Most Prominent Saudi Arabia Players in Europe

By
  Saudi players have started to make their mark in Europe as two European clubs signed three names this season. Saudi Arabia has just been named the host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, albeit with controversy. Naturally, they begin speeding up their football development, on and off the pitch. The football infrastructure and facilities might be easier to build, but not its sporting side. The KSA national team’s campaign in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers has not been satisfactory. They have even been winless against the minnow, Indonesia . Recently, they were well beaten on the road after being held in a stalemate at home. However, their talents have been recognised at the top level and flourished. This season, three Saudi internationals joined two European sides. The right back, Saud Abdulhamid, signed for Italian Serie A, AS Roma , while the midfielder Faisal Al Ghamdi and forward, Marwan Al Sahafi, moved to the Belgian side, Beerschot VA. They are currently sitting 16th on ...
Post a Comment
Read more