A goal scored by Luciano Rodriguez in the 86th minute of the final match of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, which took place on Sunday at La Plata, Argentina, gave Uruguay the victory against Italy by a score of 1-0. The match was held in Argentina.
The streak of four consecutive triumphs for European teams in the Under-20 World Cup came to an end as the Celeste won their first-ever game in the tournament.
In 1997 and 2013, Uruguay’s attempts to win the tournament’s title match were unsuccessful. In 2011, Brazil was the only country to emerge victorious from South America, capturing first place.
Over 40,000 spectators watched the game at the Diego Maradona Stadium, the overwhelming majority of whom were cheering for Uruguay to win. There was also the current President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, who was present.
Rodriguez, visibly overcome with emotion after the game, said that “this is crazy, crazy, crazy and we deserve it.” “It’s almost like a dream come true for us.”
Although he completed the campaign as the competition’s best scorer with seven goals, Italy’s Cesare Casadei did not have a strong showing in the final game.
According to head coach Carmine Nunziata, Italy’s performance was hindered by the condition of the pitch, and Nunziata conceded that Uruguay played better than Italy.
According to Nunziata, the playing field is unfair to athletes who possess a higher level of skill. “The race turned out to be really amazing for us. This match does not cancel out what we have already achieved, and it has not been easy to compete in any of these matches so far. They were more capable than we were on this specific day.”
On May 20, the beginning of the U20 World Cup, neither Uruguay nor Italy were regarded to be among the favorites to win the tournament. In contrast to Brazil, Argentina, and England, neither country met as much resistance from players’ clubs when requesting that players be released for international competition.
After Argentina’s success in the World Cup in December, which put an end to a winning streak for European teams in events of similar nature, the victory for the Celeste came as a pleasant surprise.
Israel, a newcomer to the competition, claimed third place earlier in the day by defeating South Korea by a score of 3-1 at the same location in La Plata.