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1997 FIFA U20 World Cup: The First with 24 Teams

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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

 

3rd 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

 


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