U20 World Cup 1997: The First with 24 Teams

 

The 1997 U20 World Cup in Malaysia marked a new era for FIFA’s youth showpiece, with a significant expansion in the number of participants.

 For the first time, the tournament grew from 16 to 24 teams, a format that remains to this day. It also meant the knockout stages began in the round of 16, with the four best third-placed sides joining the top two from each group.

The 1997 Tournament in Numbers

 * Played between 16 June and 5 July.

* Six host cities: Shah Alam, Kuantan, Kangar, Johor Bahru, Alor Setar and Kuching.

* With the exception of UEFA, every confederation was handed more slots. Asia, Africa and CONCACAF doubled their representation from two to four, while South America gained one extra spot. Oceania, meanwhile, received an automatic berth.

* Four debutants made the stage: Belgium, South Africa, the UAE and hosts Malaysia.

Argentina Won Back-to-Back

Argentina followed in the footsteps of Brazil and Portugal by becoming just the third nation to successfully defend their title. Once again under the guidance of José Pékerman – the man who had steered them to glory in Qatar two years earlier – the Albiceleste produced another triumphant campaign, though it wasn’t always smooth sailing.

 With Juan Román Riquelme pulling the strings, Argentina stumbled in the group stage, losing to Australia in their final match and finishing runners-up in the group. But from then on, they looked unstoppable.

 In the knockouts, they dumped out England – led by a young Michael Owen –with a 2-1 win in the round of 16, brushed aside Brazil 2-0 in the quarters, and edged Ireland 1-0 in the semi-final.

The final against Uruguay proved a stern test. La Celeste had already eliminated the USA, France (featuring Thierry Henry) and Ghana on their way to the showpiece. And when Pablo García’s free-kick ripped into the net to give Uruguay the lead, it looked like Argentina’s defence of the crown might be over.

But Pékerman’s side roared back. Esteban Cambiasso levelled the score, before Diego Quintana grabbed the decisive goal to seal a 2-1 win – and Argentina’s third U20 World Cup trophy.

 

Tournament Highlights

 Group Stage final standings (The one in bold advanced to the knockout stage, the top two from each group, plus best third place)

Grup A	Grup B	Grup C
Uruguay	Brasil	Ghana
Morocco	France	Ireland
Belgium	South Africa	USA
Malaysia	South Korea	PRC
Grup D	Grup E	Grup F
Spain	Australia	England
Japan	Argentina	Mexico
Paraguay	Canada	UEA
Costa Rica	Hungary	Ivory Coast

** = penalties

* = extra time

Round of  16:

-          Uruguay vs USA 3-0

-          Mexico vs France 0-1

-          Australia vs Japan 0-1

-          Ghana vs UEA 3-0

-          Spanyol vs Canada 2-0

-          Ireland vs Morocco 2-1

-          England vs Argentina 1-2

-          Brasil vs Belgium 10-0

Quarterfinal:

-          Uruguay vs France 1-1 (7-6)**

-          Japan vs Ghana 1-2*

-          Spain vs Ireland 0-1

-          Brasil vs Argentina 0-2

Semifinal:

-          Uruguay vs Ghana 3-2*

-          Ireland vs Argentina 0-1

 

3^rd place Playoff : Ireland vs Ghana 2-1

Final: Argentina vs Uruguay 2-1

Top scorer: Adailton (Brasil) – 10 gol

MVP: Nicolas Olivera (Uruguay)

 

From Youth to Stardom

 The 1997 U20 World Cup produced a glittering crop of talent who would go on to light up the game at the very highest level. Among them were Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet, who would later fire France to European Championship glory in 2000; Michael Owen, who became England’s teenage sensation at the 1998 World Cup; Japan’s midfield maestro Shunsuke Nakamura; Argentina’s playmaker supreme Juan Román Riquelme; and none other than the current Argentina head coach, Lionel Scaloni.

 Here is the list of players from the 1997 U20 World Cup who went on to become key figures at senior level:

Players	World Cup edition (senior)
Willy Sagnol (France)	2002, 2006
Mikael Silvestre (France)	2002, 2006
William Gallas (France)	2006, 2010
Thierry Henry (France)	1998, 2002, 2006, 2010
Kwame Agboh (France/Togo)	2006
David Trezeguet (France)	1998, 2002, 2006
Nikolas Anelka (France)	2010
Benny McCarthy (South Africa)	1998, 2002
Matthew Booth (South Africa)	2010
Douglas Sequeira (Costa Rica)	2006
Carlos Castro (Costa Rica)	2002
Pablo Chinchilla (Costa Rica)	2002
Steven Bryce (Costa Rica)	2002
Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (Japan)	2002, 2006
Kazuykui Toda (Japan)	2002
Tomokazu Myojin (Japan)	2002
Atsushi Yanagisawa (Japan)	2002. 2006
Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan)	2006, 2010
Justo Villar (Paraguay)	2002, 2006, 2010
Paulo da Silva (Paraguay)	2006, 2010
Cesar Ramirez (Paraguay)	1998
Gustavo Morinigo (Paraguay)	2002
David Albelda (Spanyol)	2002, 2006
Gustavo Munua (Uruguay)	2002
Pablo Garcia (Uruguay)	2002
Nicolas Olivera (Uruguay)	2002
Fabian Carini (Uruguay)	2002
Alejandro Lembo (Uruguay)	2002
Manuel Regueiro (Uruguay)	2002
Li Weifeng (PRC)	2002
Li Tie (PRC)	2002
Yang Pu (PRC)	2002
Stephen Appiah (Ghana)	2006, 2010
Damien Duff (Ireland)	2002
Josh Wolff (USA)	2002, 2006
John O’Brien (USA)	2002, 2006
Ben Olsen (USA)	2006
Matthew Upson (England )	2010
Michael Owen (England )	1998, 2002, 2006
Jamie Carragher (England)	2002, 2006
Kieron Dyer (England)	2002
Bonaventura Kalou (Ivory Coast)	2006
Leo Franco (Argentina)	2006
Leandro Cufre (Argentina)	2006
Walter Samuel (Argentina)	2002, 2010
Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina)	2006
Roman Riquelme (Argentina)	2006
Pablo Aimar (Argentina)	2002, 2006
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina)	2006
Brett Emerton (Australia)	2006
Lucas Neill (Australia)	2006. 2010
Vince Grella (Australia)	2006, 2010