Uruguay won its first Under-20 World Cup title on Sunday, defeating Italy 1-0. The Celeste’s victory breaks Europe’s four consecutive winning streaks in the tournament. Luciano Rodrguez scored the decisive goal in the 86th minute with a close-range header, giving Uruguay a well-deserved win after dominating Italy throughout the match.
More than 40,000 spectators packed the Diego Maradona Stadium, largely in support of Uruguay. Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, was also there.
Uruguay hardly needed to rely on its solid defence which conceded only 3 goals throughout the tournament, all of which came against England in the group stage.
The South American squad had excellent chances to open the score much earlier, including a free kick by Rodrguez, two long-range attempts by captain Fabricio Daz and a header by Anderson Duarte that caused goalkeeper Sebastiano Desplanches to make one of the tournament’s best saves.
“This is crazy, crazy, crazy and we deserve it,” a tearful Rodríguez said after the match. He also added, “We are living a dream.”
Uruguay became so involved in the game in La Plata that the nation’s football association postponed the round of the national championship on Sunday so that fans could watch the final against Italy.
Earlier, Israel defeated South Korea 3-1 in the same place in La Plata to finish third.