The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the twentieth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The competition took place for the first time in New Zealand,[1] the third time on Oceanian soil after Australia staged the 1981 and 1993 editions. A total of 52 matches were played in seven host cities.[2]
During the first meeting of the local organising committee in January 2013, provisional dates of 19 June to 11 July were given towards hosting of games, with a final decision on stadiums and cities originally meant to be taken in February 2013.[3] Two more postponements then followed.[4][5]
France, the 2013 champions, were unable to defend their title as they failed to reach the final round of the UEFA qualifying tournament.[6] In doing so, they became the fourth consecutive incumbent title holder to fail to qualify for the subsequent tournament.
Four FIFA member associations officially submitted their bids to host the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup by the deadline of 11 February 2011.[7] On 3 March 2011, FIFA announced that the tournament would be held for the first time in New Zealand.[8][9] This is the third FIFA competition staged in this country, after the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship and the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[8]
Before the stadium announcements were made, Dunedin City council suggested in January 2013,[10] that it would not bid to host matches at Forsyth Barr Stadium (also known as Otago Stadium) unless the costs (an estimated $1m) could be lowered.[11] The stadium hosted seven matches there, the last of which being a Round of 16 game.[12]
2. ^ Serbia made their first U-20 World Cup appearance as an independent nation. They were chosen as the descendant of the now-defunct Yugoslavia, which qualified in 1979 and 1987.
Draw and schedule
The final draw was held on 10 February 2015, 17:30 local time, at the SkyCity Grand, Auckland.[14][15] For the draw, the 24 teams were divided into four seeding pots:[16]
Pot 1: Hosts and continental champions of five confederations (except OFC)
Pot 2: Remaining teams from AFC and CAF
Pot 3: Remaining teams from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL
Pot 4: Remaining teams from OFC and UEFA
As a basic principle, teams from the same confederation could not be drawn against each other at the group stage. As the CAF U-20 Championship was not completed at the time of the draw, a separate draw took place on 23 March 2015 in Dakar, Senegal, at the tournament's conclusion to determine the groups where the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed CAF teams would play in, to ensure there was no manipulation of games in the qualifying tournament ensuring fairness to all qualified teams.[17][18]
The 24 squads were officially announced by FIFA on 21 May 2015.[22][23] Each participating national association had to submit a final list of 21 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) at least 10 days before the tournament started. These players were shortlisted from a provisional list of 35 players, including a minimum of four goalkeepers.[24] All players must have been born on or after 1 January 1995.[24] If a player listed in the final squad suffered a serious injury up until 24 hours before the kick-off of his team's first match, he could be replaced by a player from the provisional list with the approval of FIFA's medical and organising committees.[24]
In July 2015, it was reported that the New Zealand squad had included an ineligible player, South African Deklan Wynne not having completed the requisite period of residence in New Zealand.[25]
Group stage
Stages reached by each team
The winners and runners-up of each group and the best four third-placed teams advanced to the round of 16.[24] The rankings of teams in each group were determined as follows:
points obtained in all group matches;
goal difference in all group matches;
number of goals scored in all group matches;
If two or more teams were equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings were determined as follows:
points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
^ abThe final positions of Mali and Uruguay were decided by drawing of lots, conducted in Auckland and witnessed by both teams via a live video link, which placed Uruguay in second and Mali in third.[27] Both teams had advanced to the round of 16.
The four best ranked third-placed teams also advanced to the round of 16. They were paired with the winners of groups A, B, C and D, according to a table published in Section 18 of the tournament regulations.[24]
Source: FIFA Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) lots drawn by FIFA. (H) Hosts
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of regular time (two periods of 45 minutes), extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. In the case of the third place match, as it was played just before the final, extra time was skipped and a penalty shoot-out took place if necessary.[24]
The third-placed teams which advanced to the round of 16 were placed with the winners of groups A, B, C and D according to a table published in Section 18 of the tournament regulations.[24]
With five goals, Viktor Kovalenko and Bence Mervó were the top scorers in the tournament. In total, 154 goals were scored by 100 different players, with six of them credited as own goals.
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.
The official emblem of the tournament was unveiled on 20 November 2013.[30] The official mascot, a black sheep named Wooliam, was unveiled on 30 November 2014.[31]
Ticketing
Prior to being released for 'General sale' on 13 June 2014,[32] registered footballers in New Zealand were given 'priority treatment' by allowing them the option to buy tickets from two months earlier.[33]
In the first three months of tickets going on sale to residents, an estimated 25,000 were sold.[34]
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