2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup

FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 Coupe du Monde de Football des Moins de 20 ans 2007
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup official logo
Tournament details
Host country	Canada
Dates	30 June – 22 July
Teams	24 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)	6 (in 6 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Argentina (6th title)
Runners-up	Czech Republic
Third place	Chile
Fourth place	Austria
Tournament statistics
Matches played	52
Goals scored	135 (2.6 per match)
Attendance	1,195,299 (22,987 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Sergio Agüero (6 goals)
Best player(s)	Sergio Agüero
Fair play award	Japan
← 2005 2009 →

The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the score of 2–1, thus managing a back-to-back world title, its fifth in the past seven editions, and sixth overall. Argentine player Sergio Agüero was given the FIFA U-20 Golden Shoe (top scorer, with six goals) and the FIFA U-20 Golden Ball (best player of the tournament), while Japan earned the FIFA Fair Play Award.

The tournament featured 24 teams coming from six continental confederations; Canada qualified automatically as hosts, while the remaining teams qualified based on their rankings at the respective continental U-20 (U-19 in Europe's case) tournaments. UEFA (Europe) qualified six teams; AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) and CONMEBOL (South America) four teams each; and OFC (Oceania) one team.

The tournament took place in a variety of venues across the country – Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Victoria and Burnaby (Vancouver) – with the showcase stadium being Toronto's new National Soccer Stadium^[1] where the final match was held. 19 years later Canada will co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

On 28 June 2007, two days before the inaugural match, it was reported that 950,000 tickets had been sold,^[2] making it the largest single-sport event ever taking place in the country,^[3] and on 3 July, the tournament organizers sold the millionth ticket.^[4] On 19 July, the semi-final match between Chile and Argentina marked this edition as the most attended in the tournament's history, with an accumulated attendance of 1,156,187 spectators, surpassing Mexico 1983's 1,155,160 spectators.^[5] Attendance totalled 1,195,299 after the final match.

Bids

Three countries launched bids to host the competition: Canada, Japan and South Korea.^[6] On August 6, 2004 the FIFA Emergency Committee unanimously awarded the rights to host the event to Canada over South Korea (Japan did not submit an official bid).^[7]

Venues

Montreal	Edmonton	Ottawa
Olympic Stadium	Commonwealth Stadium	Frank Clair Stadium
Capacity: 66,308	Capacity: 60,081	Capacity: 26,559
45°33′28.8″N 73°33′07.2″W	53°33′34.6″N 113°28′34.2″W	45°23′55.8″N 75°41′03.6″W
Montreal Edmonton Ottawa Toronto Victoria Burnaby
Toronto	Victoria	Burnaby
National Soccer Stadium	Royal Athletic Park	Swangard Stadium
Capacity: 20,195	Capacity: 14,500	Capacity: 10,000
43°37′59.5″N 79°25′06.8″W	48°25′52.6″N 123°21′14.6″W	49°13′51.0″N 123°01′17.0″W

Qualification

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup final rankings.

Twenty-three teams qualified for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. As the host team, Canada received an automatic bid, bringing the total number of teams to twenty-four for the tournament. The final draw for the group stages took place on 3 March 2007 in Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex, Toronto.

Confederation	Qualifying Tournament	Qualifier(s)
AFC (Asia)	2006 AFC Youth Championship	Japan  Jordan^1  North Korea^1  South Korea
CAF (Africa)	2007 African Youth Championship	Congo^1  Gambia^1  Nigeria  Zambia
CONCACAF (North, Central America & Caribbean)	Host nation	Canada
	2007 U-20 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying tournament	Costa Rica  Mexico  Panama  United States
CONMEBOL (South America)	2007 South American Youth Championship	Argentina  Brazil  Chile  Uruguay
OFC (Oceania)	2007 OFC U-20 Championship	New Zealand^1
UEFA (Europe)	2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship	Austria  Czech Republic  Poland  Portugal  Scotland  Spain

1.^ Teams that made their debut.

Match officials

Confederation	Referee	Assistants
AFC	Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia)	Thanom Borikut (Thailand) Mu Yuxin (China)
	Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)	Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (Uzbekistan) Bahadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan)
CAF	Mohamed Benouza (Algeria)	Amar Talbi (Algeria) Mazari Kerai (Algeria)
CONCACAF	Steven Depiero (Canada)	Héctor Vergara (Canada) Joe Fletcher (Canada)
	Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)	Roberto Giron (Honduras) Daniel Williamson (Panama)
	Germán Arredondo (Mexico)	Héctor Delgadillo (Mexico) Francisco Pérez (Mexico)
	Enrico Wijngaarde (Suriname)	Anthony Garwood (Jamaica) Ricardo Morgan (Jamaica)
	Terry Vaughn (United States)	Chris Strickland (United States) George Gansner (United States)
CONMEBOL	Hernando Buitrago (Colombia)	Abraham González (Colombia) Rafael Rivas (Colombia)
OFC	Peter O'Leary (New Zealand)	Brent Best (New Zealand) Kaloata Chilia (Vanuatu)
UEFA	Howard Webb (England)	Mike Mullarkey (England) Darren Cann (England)
	Wolfgang Stark (Germany)	Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany) Volker Wezel (Germany)
	Viktor Kassai (Hungary)	Gábor Erős (Hungary) Tibor Vámos (Hungary)
	Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)	Fermín Martínez Ibáñez (Spain) Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez (Spain)
	Martin Hansson (Sweden)	Stefan Wittberg (Sweden) Henrik Andrén (Sweden)

Squads

For a list of the squads see 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup squads

Group stage

Rubin Okotie of Austria and Destin Onka Malonga of the Congo at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on 2 July 2007.

The 24 participating teams were distributed between six groups of four teams each, according to a draw held on 3 March 2007. The groups are contested on a league system, where each team plays one time against the other teams in the same group, for a total of six matches per group. Each group winner and runner-up teams, as well as the best four third-placed teams, qualify for the first round of the knockout stage (round of 16).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Group stage result
1	Chile	3	2	1	0	6	0	+6	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Austria	3	1	2	0	2	1	+1	5
3	Congo	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	4
4	Canada (H)	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
(H) Hosts

1 July 2007
19:45 EDT
23:45 UTC

Canada	0–3	Chile
	Report	Medina 25' Carmona 54' Grondona 81'

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 20,195

Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

---

2 July 2007
17:45 MDT
23:45 UTC

Congo	1–1	Austria
Ibara 59' (pen.)	Report	Hoffer 7'

Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Attendance: 19,899

Referee: Enrico Wijngaarde (Suriname)

---

5 July 2007
17:45 MDT
23:45 UTC

Austria	1–0	Canada
Okotie 47'	Report

Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Attendance: 31,579

Referee: Hernando Buitrago (Colombia)

---

5 July 2007
20:30 MDT
02:30 UTC

Chile	3–0	Congo
Sánchez 49' Medina 75' Vidal 82'	Report

Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Attendance: 30,352

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

---

8 July 2007
18:00 MDT
00:00 UTC

Canada	0–2	Congo
	Report	Ngakosso 26' Ikouma 60'

Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Attendance: 32,058

Referee: Howard Webb (England)

---

8 July 2007
20:00 EDT
00:00 UTC

Chile	0–0	Austria
	Report

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 19,526

Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Group stage result
1	Spain	3	2	1	0	8	5	+3	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Zambia	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4
3	Uruguay	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	4
4	Jordan	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

1 July 2007
14:15 PDT
21:15 UTC

Jordan	1–1	Zambia
Deeb 41'	Report	Tembo 8' (pen.)

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Terry Vaughn (United States)

---

1 July 2007
17:00 PDT
00:00 UTC

Spain	2–2	Uruguay
Adrián L. 71' Capel 90+3'	Report	Cavani 47' L. Suárez 56'

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

---

4 July 2007
17:00 PDT
00:00 UTC

Uruguay	1–0	Jordan
Cavani 40'	Report

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Peter O'Leary (New Zealand)

---

4 July 2007
19:45 PDT
02:45 UTC

Zambia	1–2	Spain
Njobvu 74'	Report	M. Suárez 30' (pen.) Mata 40'

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Germán Arredondo (Mexico)

---

7 July 2007
14:15 PDT
21:15 UTC

Spain	4–2	Jordan
Adrián L. 29', 32', 38' Marquitos 79'	Report	Omran 48' Deeb 56'

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Hernando Buitrago (Colombia)

---

7 July 2007
14:15 PDT
21:15 UTC

Uruguay	0–2	Zambia
	Report	Mulenga 22' (pen.) Kola 51'

Royal Athletic Park, Victoria

Attendance: 11,500

Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Group stage result
1	Mexico	3	3	0	0	7	2	+5	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Gambia	3	2	0	1	3	4	−1	6
3	Portugal	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
4	New Zealand	3	0	0	3	1	5	−4	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

2 July 2007
14:15 EDT
18:15 UTC

Portugal	2–0	New Zealand
Gama 45', 61' (pen.)	Report

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 19,526

Referee: Hernando Buitrago (Colombia)

---

2 July 2007
17:00 EDT
21:00 UTC

Gambia	0–3	Mexico
	Report	Dos Santos 57' Moreno 67' J. Hernández 89'

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 19,526

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

---

5 July 2007
17:00 EDT
21:00 UTC

New Zealand	0–1	Gambia
	Report	Jallow 22'

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 19,526

Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

---

5 July 2007
19:45 EDT
23:45 UTC

Mexico	2–1	Portugal
Dos Santos 48' (pen.) Barrera 66'	Report	Antunes 89'

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 19,526

Referee: Howard Webb (England)

---

8 July 2007
17:15 EDT
21:15 UTC

Portugal	1–2	Gambia
Condesso 20'	Report	Jallow 44' (pen.) Mansally 68'

Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Attendance: 28,402

Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

---

8 July 2007
15:15 MDT
21:15 UTC

New Zealand	1–2	Mexico
Pelter 89'	Report	Bermúdez 24' Mares 78'

Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Attendance: 29,792

Referee: Mohamed Benouza (Algeria)

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Group stage result
1	United States	3	2	1	0	9	3	+6	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Poland	3	1	1	1	3	7	−4	4
3	Brazil	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
4	South Korea	3	0	2	1	4	5	−1	2

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

30 June 2007
14:15 EDT
18:15 UTC

Poland	1–0	Brazil
Krychowiak 23'	Report

Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Attendance: 55,800

Referee: Howard Webb (England)

---

30 June 2007
17:00 EDT
21:00 UTC

South Korea	1–1	United States
Shin Young-rok 38'	Report	Szetela 17'

Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Attendance: 55,800

Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

---

3 July 2007
17:00 EDT
21:00 UTC

United States	6–1	Poland
Szetela 9', 51' Adu 20', 45+3', 85' Altidore 70'	Report	Janczyk 5'

Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Attendance: 35,801

Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)

---

3 July 2007
19:45 EDT
23:45 UTC

Brazil	3–2	South Korea
Amaral 35' Pato 48', 59'	Report	Shim Young-sung 83' Shin Young-rok 89'

Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Attendance: 35,801

Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

---

6 July 2007
19:45 EDT
23:45 UTC

Brazil	1–2	United States
Lima 64'	Report	Altidore 25', 81'

Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa

Attendance: 26,559

Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

---

6 July 2007
19:45 EDT
23:45 UTC

Poland	1–1	South Korea
Janczyk 45'	Report	Lee Sang-ho 71'

Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Attendance: 34,912

Referee: Enrico Wijngaarde (Suriname)

Group E

The Czech Republic playing against North Korea at the Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa on 3 July 2007.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Group stage result
1	Argentina	3	2	1	0	7	0	+7	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Czech Republic	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	5
3	North Korea	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2
4	Panama	3	0	1	2	1	8	−7	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

30 June 2007
16:30 EDT
20:30 UTC

North Korea	0–0	Panama
	Report

Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa

Attendance: 26,559

Referee: Mohamed Benouza (Algeria)

---

30 June 2007
19:15 EDT
23:15 UTC

Argentina	0–0	Czech Republic
	Report

Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa

Attendance: 26,559

Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)

---

3 July 2007
17:00 EDT
21:00 UTC

Czech Republic	2–2	North Korea
Kalouda 56' Fenin 66'	Report	Kim Kum-il 12' Jon Kwang-ik 89' (pen.)

Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa

Attendance: 22,200

Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

---

3 July 2007
19:45 EDT
23:45 UTC

Panama	0–6	Argentina
	Report	Moralez 20', 27' Zárate 23' Agüero 25', 62' Di María 76'

Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa

Attendance: 23,500

Referee: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia)

---

6 July 2007
17:00 EDT
21:00 UTC

Czech Republic	2–1	Panama
Kalouda 79' Střeštík 82'	Report	Barahona 84'

Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Attendance: 34,912

Referee: Steven Depiero (Canada)

---

6 July 2007
17:00 EDT
21:00 UTC

Argentina	1–0	North Korea
Agüero 35'	Report

Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa

Attendance: 26,559

Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Group stage result
1	Japan	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Nigeria	3	2	1	0	3	0	+3	7
3	Costa Rica	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	3
4	Scotland	3	0	0	3	2	7	−5	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

1 July 2007
14:15 PDT
21:15 UTC

Japan	3–1	Scotland
Morishima 43' Umesaki 57' Aoyama 79'	Report	Campbell 82'

Royal Athletic Park, Victoria

Attendance: 11,500

Referee: Germán Arredondo (Mexico)

---

1 July 2007
17:00 PDT
00:00 UTC

Nigeria	1–0	Costa Rica
Ideye 75'	Report

Royal Athletic Park, Victoria

Attendance: 11,500

Referee: Peter O'Leary (New Zealand)

---

4 July 2007
17:00 PDT
00:00 UTC

Costa Rica	0–1	Japan
	Report	Tanaka 68'

Royal Athletic Park, Victoria

Attendance: 10,500

Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

---

4 July 2007
19:45 PDT
02:45 UTC

Scotland	0–2	Nigeria
	Report	Bala 49', 78'

Royal Athletic Park, Victoria

Attendance: 10,500

Referee: Terry Vaughn (United States)

---

7 July 2007
17:00 PDT
00:00 UTC

Japan	0–0	Nigeria
	Report

Royal Athletic Park, Victoria

Attendance: 11,500

Referee: Germán Arredondo (Mexico)

---

7 July 2007
17:00 PDT
00:00 UTC

Scotland	1–2	Costa Rica
Reynolds 18'	Report	Herrera 57' McDonald 90+2'

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia)

Ranking of third-placed teams

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Result
1	A	Congo	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	4	Advance to knockout stage
2	B	Uruguay	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	4
3	C	Portugal	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
4	D	Brazil	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
5	F	Costa Rica	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	3
6	E	North Korea	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Knockout stage

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

11 July – Edmonton

Austria

2

14 July – Toronto

Gambia

1

Austria (aet)

2

11 July – Toronto

United States

1

United States (aet)

2

18 July – Edmonton

Uruguay

1

Austria

0

11 July – Burnaby

Czech Republic

2

Spain (aet)

4

14 July – Edmonton

Brazil

2

Spain

1 (3)

11 July – Victoria

Czech Republic (p)

1 (4)

Japan

2 (3)

22 July – Toronto

Czech Republic (p)

2 (4)

Czech Republic

1

12 July – Edmonton

Argentina

2

Chile

1

15 July – Montreal

Portugal

0

Chile (aet)

4

12 July – Ottawa

Nigeria

0

Zambia

1

19 July – Toronto

Nigeria

2

Chile

0

12 July – Toronto

Argentina

3

Third place

Argentina

3

15 July – Ottawa

22 July – Toronto

Poland

1

Argentina

1

Austria

0

12 July – Montreal

Mexico

0

Chile

1

Mexico

3

Congo

0

Round of 16

11 July 2007

17:45 MDT
23:45 UTC

Austria	2–1	Gambia
Prödl 45+1' Hoffer 81'	Report	P. Gomez 69'

Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Attendance: 18,721

Referee: Mohamed Benouza (Algeria)

---

11 July 2007

19:45 EDT
23:45 UTC

United States	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Uruguay
Cardaccio 87' (o.g.) Bradley 107'	Report	L. Suárez 73'

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 19,526

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

---

11 July 2007

20:15 PDT
03:15 UTC

Spain	4–2 (a.e.t.)	Brazil
Piqué 43' J. García 84' Bueno 102' Adrián L. 120+1'	Report	Lima 39' Pato 41'

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)

---

11 July 2007

20:15 PDT
03:15 UTC

Japan	2–2 (a.e.t.)	Czech Republic
Makino 22' Morishima 47' (pen.)	Report	Kúdela 74' (pen.) Mareš 77' (pen.)
Penalties
Yasuda Aoki Makino Morishima Kashiwagi	3–4	Fenin Kúdela Suchý Pekhart Okleštěk

Royal Athletic Park, Victoria

Attendance: 11,500

Referee: Hernando Buitrago (Colombia)

---

12 July 2007

16:45 EDT
20:45 UTC

Zambia	1–2	Nigeria
Kola 33'	Report	Elderson 3' Akabueze 57'

Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa

Attendance: 22,531

Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

---

12 July 2007

16:45 EDT
20:45 UTC

Argentina	3–1	Poland
Di María 40' Agüero 46', 86'	Report	Janczyk 33'

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 19,526

Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

---

12 July 2007

17:45 MDT
23:45 UTC

Chile	1–0	Portugal
Vidal 45'	Report

Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Attendance: 24,687

Referee: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia)

---

12 July 2007

19:45 EDT
23:45 UTC

Mexico	3–0	Congo
Dos Santos 23' (pen.) Esparza 85' Barrera 90+4'	Report

Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Attendance: 40,204

Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Quarter-finals

14 July 2007

14:15 EDT
18:15 UTC

Austria	2–1 (a.e.t.)	United States
Okotie 43' Hoffer 105'	Report	Altidore 15'

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 19,526

Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)

---

14 July 2007

17:45 MDT
23:45 UTC

Spain	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Czech Republic
Mata 110'	Report	Kalouda 103'
Penalties
Mata Adrián G. Valiente J. García Piqué	3–4	Fenin Suchý Kúdela Pekhart

Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Attendance: 26,801

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

---

15 July 2007

14:15 EDT
18:15 UTC

Chile	4–0 (a.e.t.)	Nigeria
Grondona 96' Isla 114' (pen.), 117' Vidangossy 120+2'	Report

Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Attendance: 46,252

Referee: Howard Webb (England)

---

15 July 2007

19:45 EDT
23:45 UTC

Argentina	1–0	Mexico
Moralez 45'	Report

Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa

Attendance: 26,559

Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Semi-finals

18 July 2007

17:45 MDT
23:45 UTC

Austria	0–2	Czech Republic
	Report	Mičola 4' Fenin 15'

Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Attendance: 28,401

Referee: Howard Webb (England)

---

19 July 2007

19:45 EDT
23:45 UTC

Chile	0–3	Argentina
	Report	Di María 12' Yacob 65' Moralez 90+3'

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 19,526

Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

Match for third place

22 July 2007

12:15 EDT
16:15 UTC

Austria	0–1	Chile
	Report	Martínez 45+1'

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 19,526

Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)

Final

22 July 2007

15:15 EDT
19:15 UTC

Czech Republic	1–2	Argentina
Fenin 60'	Report	Agüero 62' Zárate 86'

National Soccer Stadium, Toronto

Attendance: 19,526

Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Team details

Czech Republic Argentina GK 1 Radek Petr RB 4 Ondřej Mazuch CB 6 Ondřej Kúdela CB 5 Jan Šimůnek (c) LB 17 Marek Suchý CM 13 Tomáš Mičola CM 15 Marek Střeštík CM 19 Luboš Kalouda RF 10 Jakub Mareš CF 9 Martin Fenin LF 3 Lukáš Kubáň Substitutes: MF 14 Marcel Gecov FW 18 Tomáš Pekhart Manager: Miroslav Soukup GK 1 Sergio Romero RB 4 Gabriel Mercado CB 2 Federico Fazio CB 14 Leonardo Sigali LB 3 Emiliano Insúa CM 8 Matías Sánchez CM 5 Éver Banega RW 9 Mauro Zárate AM 17 Maxi Moralez LW 19 Pablo Piatti CF 10 Sergio Agüero (c) Substitutes: MF 15 Ariel Cabral FW 20 Lautaro Acosta Manager: Hugo Tocalli

Goalscorers

With six goals, Sergio Agüero was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 135 goals were scored by 84 different players, with one of them credited as own goals.

6 goals

• Sergio Agüero

5 goals

• Adrián López

4 goals

• Maximiliano Moralez
• Jozy Altidore

3 goals

• Ángel Di María
• Erwin Hoffer
• Alexandre Pato
• Martin Fenin
• Luboš Kalouda
• Giovani dos Santos
• Dawid Janczyk
• Freddy Adu
• Danny Szetela

2 goals

• Mauro Zárate
• Rubin Okotie
• Leandro Lima
• Jaime Grondona
• Mauricio Isla
• Nicolás Medina
• Arturo Vidal
• Ousman Jallow
• Yasuhito Morishima
• Abdallah Deeb
• Pablo Barrera
• Ezekiel Bala
• Bruno Gama
• Shin Young-rok
• Juan Mata
• Edinson Cavani
• Luis Suárez
• Rodgers Kola

1 goal

• Claudio Yacob
• Sebastian Prödl
• Amaral
• Carlos Carmona
• Hans Martínez
• Alexis Sánchez
• Mathías Vidangossy
• Franchel Ibara
• Gracia Ikouma
• Ermejea Ngakosso
• Pablo Herrera
• Jonathan McDonald
• Ondřej Kúdela
• Jakub Mareš
• Tomáš Mičola
• Marek Střeštík
• Pierre Gomez
• Abdoulie Mansally
• Jun Aoyama
• Tomoaki Makino
• Atomu Tanaka
• Tsukasa Umesaki
• Lo'ay Omran
• Christian Bermúdez
• Omar Esparza
• Javier Hernández
• Héctor Moreno
• Osmar Mares
• Jack Pelter
• Chukwuma Akabueze
• Elderson Echiéjilé
• Brown Ideye
• Kim Kum-il
• Jon Kwang-ik
• Nelson Barahona
• Grzegorz Krychowiak
• Vitorino Antunes
• Feliciano Condesso
• Ross Campbell
• Mark Reynolds
• Lee Sang-ho
• Shim Young-sung
• Marquitos
• Alberto Bueno
• Diego Capel
• Javi García
• Gerard Piqué
• Mario Suárez
• Michael Bradley
• Clifford Mulenga
• William Njobvu
• Fwayo Tembo

1 own goal

• Mathías Cardaccio (against the United States)

Awards

Source:^[8]

Golden Ball	Silver Ball	Bronze Ball
Sergio Agüero	Maximiliano Moralez	Giovani dos Santos
Golden Shoe	Silver Shoe	Bronze Shoe
Sergio Agüero	Adrián López	Maximiliano Moralez
FIFA Fair Play Award
Japan

Final ranking

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
1	Argentina	7	6	1	0	16	2	+14	19	Champions
2	Czech Republic	7	2	4	1	10	8	+2	10	Runners-up
3	Chile	7	5	1	1	12	3	+9	16	Third place
4	Austria	7	3	2	2	6	6	0	11	Fourth place
5	Mexico	5	4	0	1	10	3	+7	12	Eliminated in Quarter-finals
6	Spain	5	3	2	0	13	8	+5	11
7	United States	5	3	1	1	12	6	+6	10
8	Nigeria	5	3	1	1	5	5	0	10
9	Japan	4	2	2	0	6	3	+3	8	Eliminated in Round of 16
10	Gambia	4	2	0	2	4	6	−2	6
11	Zambia	4	1	1	2	5	5	0	4
12	Uruguay	4	1	1	2	4	6	−2	4
13	Congo	4	1	1	2	3	7	−4	4
14	Poland	4	1	1	2	4	10	−6	4
15	Portugal	4	1	0	3	4	5	−1	3
16	Brazil	4	1	0	3	6	9	−3	3
17	Costa Rica	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	3	Eliminated in Group stage
18	South Korea	3	0	2	1	4	5	−1	2
19	North Korea	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2
20	Jordan	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3	1
21	Panama	3	0	1	2	1	8	−7	1
22	New Zealand	3	0	0	3	1	5	−4	0
23	Scotland	3	0	0	3	2	7	−5	0
24	Canada (H)	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0

Source: rsssf.com
(H) Hosts

Controversies

Nigerian accusations of racism

The quarter-final match between Chile and Nigeria took place on FIFA's "Say No To Racism Day." During extra time, Chile's Jaime Grondona scored at the 96th minute, but Nigerians claimed that it was offside. Despite their protest, referee Howard Webb allowed the goal to stand, and the goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa received a yellow card for his protest. Replays showed that a defender was out of place, and it was not offside.^[9][10]

After the game, Nigerian coach Ladan Bosso accused Webb of racism in a press conference, stating that "the officiating, I think FIFA has a long way to go to beat racism because that official showed racism." When asked directly if he felt Webb was a racist, Bosso responded by stating that "It's good for FIFA to bring in the fight against racism, but they have to follow it to the letter so that the implementation will be done."^[10] The coach was fined CHF 11,000 and banned for four months, as the disciplinary committee found him guilty of "offensive behaviour" under the terms of article 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was also sanctioned for allowing the players to wear T-shirts with religious statements under their game jerseys. This was a violation of the regulations of the tournament, which state: "Players and officials are not allowed to display political, religious, commercial or personal messages in any language or form on their playing or team kits..."^[9]

Chilean clash with police

On 19 July 2007, there was a clash between Chilean players and police officers following the semi-final match between Chile and Argentina. The Chilean players were angry with referee, Wolfgang Stark, claiming that he had "lost control of the match early on"^[11] and complained about receiving seven yellow cards and two red cards,^[12] with a total of 53 fouls committed.^[13] After the game, Stark and his colleagues were surrounded by Chilean players, and Toronto Police Service members had to intervene to restrain them. Stark was escorted off the pitch and into the dressing room tunnel by the police, due to fears that he would be attacked by the crowd or Chilean players.^[14] Afterwards, there was a brawl between several players and delegates of the Chilean team and police outside Toronto's National Soccer Stadium.^[15]

According to Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, the altercation began when Chilean players got into a scuffle with a rival fan.^[16] He added that "members of the Chilean team then decided to direct some of their aggressive behaviour towards my officers... The job of my officers was to respond in a firm, but fair, manner to end that violence. They are trained to do so, and that is what they did."^[16] The Chilean players, however, stated that Isaías Peralta walked towards Chilean fans located behind a security fence, but was stopped by about ten policemen. They further stated that a heated discussion took place, and Peralta (who speaks no English) was verbally and physically abused by the policemen.^[17]

Peralta was tasered by a police officer and lost consciousness for 20 minutes.^[17] Subsequently, other players became involved in a struggle with the police, but eventually returned to their bus and closed the doors. Eyewitnesses reported that players on the bus threw objects at the police through the windows and attempted to grab officers from inside the damaged bus.^[18] Three minutes later, Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the president of the Chilean National Association of Professional Football (ANFP), asked the players to exit the bus and board a different one. As the players were leaving the bus, the police then took them back to the stadium.^[19]

FIFA spokesman, John Schumacher, stated that "the Chilean players were detained by the police to de-escalate the situation that was taking place in front of the stadium. Ten Chilean team members were detained over three hours and then released without charges."^[20] The following day, FIFA president Sepp Blatter expressed at a press conference in Toronto that the incident was "regrettable" and that he "apologised in the name of FIFA."^[21] The ANFP hired a Toronto-based law firm to pursue legal action against the Toronto police.^[19]

The incident was on the front page of every major Chilean newspaper. Following the incident, the Canadian embassy in Santiago received a bomb threat, and angry Chileans protested outside the embassy holding signs that read "Racist Canada."^[22] Chilean President Michelle Bachelet described the incident as "particularly serious because, in our view, the Chilean delegation suffered unjustified aggression"^[21] and lodged a formal protest with the Canadian government.^[23] In response, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper remarked that "international soccer matches are hotly contested and often become very emotional. As you know, there are processes in Canada by which the authorities review these kinds of incidents and I don't intend to comment further."^[23]

According to reports in Canadian media, a Chilean team member punched a female police officer in the face before Peralta was tasered.^[24][25] An internal review led by Superintendent Jim Ramer determined that officers acted professionally and with "an immense amount of restraint" during the conflict outside BMO Field, in which Chilean players "punched, kicked, spat on, and kicked" police and security staff. The report stated that the violence began when two individuals not involved in the game confronted each other. Security guards attempted to intervene, followed by police, when a Chilean player punched a female police officer in the face. From that point, the report stated that the violence escalated, with Chilean players dismantling armrests and footrests from the bus seats and smashing windows in order to spit and throw objects at police, including D batteries, clothes hangers, and cans of deodorant. Four officers were reportedly injured by projectiles. FIFA agreed to pay for the $35,000 cost of damages to the team's rented bus.^[24]

Mayne-Nicholls, who was a witness to the incident, stated that "I didn't see any Chilean player hitting any officer except between all the struggling." Patricio Bascuñán, the president of the Salvador Allende Cultural Society of Toronto, called for an independent review.^[24]

Grondona was suspended for nine months at all levels, including domestic and international play, and fined CHF 7,000 (including procedural costs) for assaulting match officials. The Chilean football association was fined CHF 15,000 for "team misconduct."

See also

• Canadian Soccer Association
• 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup

References

1. "National Soccer Stadium" was the temporary name of the BMO Field during this tournament, as FIFA prohibits sponsorship of stadia unless the stadium sponsor is also an official FIFA sponsor.
2. "FIFA U-20 World Cup surpasses 950,000 spectators". CanadaSoccer.com. 28 June 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
3. "History made with Canada 2007 ticket sales". FIFA. 1 March 2007. Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
4. "Fast starts for Mexico, Portugal". FIFA.com. 3 July 2007. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
5. "Canada sets U-20 World Cup attendance record". CBC Sports. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
6. "Canada a lock for 2007 FIFA world youth championship". www.cbc.ca/sports/. CBC Sports. 27 May 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2023. Japan and South Korea are also bidding against Canada
7. "FIFA World Youth Championship 2007 Awarded to Canada" (Press release). FIFA. SportCal. 6 August 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
8. "FIFA U20 World Cup Canada 2007". FIFA. 2007.
9. "Don't blame the ref". CBC News. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
10. "Nigerian coach levies racism charge against ref". CBC News. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
11. Woolsey, Garth (20 July 2007). "Beautiful game turns ugly". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
12. FIFA.com Archived 21 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
13. ^{[dead link‍]}"Chileans fight with police after loss". CNN. Associated Press. 20 July 2007. Archived from the original on 15 August 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
14. Molinaro, John F. (19 July 2007). "Argentina advances to FIFA U-20 final". CBC News. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
15. [Reuters: Chile soccer players clash with Toronto police; 20 July 2007]
16. Chilean officials blame police for melee Archived 11 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine, tsn.ca. Retrieved 20 July 2007.
17. Campbell, Morgan; Toronto Star: CSA seeking witnesses to Chile brawl; 24 July 2007 Archived 28 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine
18. "Chile officials say Toronto police to blame for soccer team's post-match brawl Archived 12 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine" Canadian Press. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
19. La Tercera Archived 1 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine 21 July 2007 edition
20. La Tercera Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine 22 July 2007 edition.
21. "Chile football players face FIFA probe after brawl ^{[dead link‍]}", Reuters. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
22. "Toronto melee a global dust-up Archived 22 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine", thestar.com. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
23. Babage, Maria, T.O. cops under scrutiny^[usurped], Slam.ca, 20 July 2007
24. Powell, Betsy; Dale, Daniel; Toronto Star: Officers cleared in soccer scuffle; 31 July 2007 Archived 22 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
25. Dale, Daniel; Toronto Star: Chilean player admits officer was punched; 30 July 2007 Archived 22 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 Archived 6 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine, FIFA.com
• RSSSF > FIFA World Youth Championship > 2007
• FIFA Technical Report