Uruguay made history on the pitch, claiming their maiden U-20 World Cup championship with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Italy at the Estadio Único Diego Maradona in La Plata, Argentina. The decisive moment came in the 86th minute, when Luciano Rodríguez’s header found the back of the net, shattering Italy’s staunch defense and sending the sky-blue faithful into raptures.
Despite Italy’s dominance in ball possession, their defensive tactics limited their offensive output to a mere three shots, none of which tested the Uruguayan goalkeeper. Uruguay, on the other hand, relentlessly pressured their opponents, unleashing 15 shots, four of which were on target. In the 22nd minute, Italian shot-stopper Sebastiano Desplanches produced a stunning save to thwart Anderson Duarte’s header off a corner kick.
The match’s momentum appeared to shift in Uruguay’s favor during the final stages, especially following a perilous tackle by Italy’s Matteo Prati in the 82nd minute. Initially awarded a red card, a contentious VAR review led the referee to downgrade it to a yellow card, permitting Prati to remain on the field.
In a fiercely contested final, the referee brandished seven yellow cards—two for Uruguay and five for Italy. Under the guidance of coach Marcelo Broli, Uruguay’s triumph puts an end to their U-20 World Cup drought, after finishing as runners-up against Argentina in 1997 and France in 2013.
Uruguay’s victory expands the U-20 World Cup’s list of champions to 12, as recorded by FIFA: Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Serbia, Ghana, Spain, Russia, Germany, England, France, Ukraine, and Uruguay.
