| 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 | 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 | Sergio Agüero (6 goals) |
| Best player | Sergio Agüero |
| Fair play award |  Japan |
←2005 2009 → | |
The2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of theFIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted byCanada from 30 June to 22 July 2007.Argentina defeated theCzech Republic in the title game by thescore of 2–1, thus managing a back-to-back world title, its fifth in the past seven editions, and sixth overall.Argentine playerSergio Agüero was given the FIFA U-20Golden Shoe (top scorer, with six goals) and the FIFA U-20Golden Ball (best player of the tournament), whileJapan earned theFIFA 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) andCONMEBOL (South America) four teams each; andOFC (Oceania) one team.
The tournament took place in a variety of venues across the country – Toronto,Edmonton,Montreal,Ottawa,Victoria andBurnaby (Vancouver) – with the showcase stadium being Toronto's newNational Soccer Stadium[a] where the final match was held. 19 years later Canada will co-host the2026 FIFA World Cup.
On 28 June 2007, two days before the inaugural match, it was reported that 950,000 tickets had been sold,[1] making it the largest single-sport event ever taking place in the country,[2] and on 3 July, the tournament organizers sold the millionth ticket.[3] On 19 July, the semi-final match betweenChile and Argentina marked this edition as the most attended in the tournament's history, with an accumulated attendance of 1,156,187 spectators, surpassingMexico 1983's 1,155,160 spectators.[4] Attendance totalled 1,195,299 after the final match.
Three countries launched bids to host the competition: Canada, Japan and South Korea.[5] 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).[6]
Twenty-three teams qualified for the 2007FIFA 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.
For a list of the squads see2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup squads
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 theknockout stage (round of 16).
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Group stage result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chile | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 7 | Advance toknockout 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 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Group stage result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Spain | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 7 | Advance toknockout 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 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Group stage result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mexico | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 9 | Advance toknockout 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 |
| Portugal | 2–0 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
Gama 45',61' (pen.) | Report |
| Gambia | 0–3 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Dos Santos 57' Moreno 67'J. Hernández 89' |
| New Zealand | 0–1 | Gambia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Jallow 22' |
| 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 toknockout 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 |
| Poland | 1–0 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Krychowiak 23' | Report |
| South Korea | 1–1 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Shin Young-rok 38' | Report | Szetela 17' |
| Brazil | 3–2 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Amaral 35' Pato 48',59' | Report | Shim Young-sung 83' Shin Young-rok 89' |
| Brazil | 1–2 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Lima 64' | Report | Altidore 25',81' |
| Poland | 1–1 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Janczyk 45' | Report | Lee Sang-ho 71' |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Group stage result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 7 | Advance toknockout 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 |
| Czech Republic | 2–2 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Kalouda 56' Fenin 66' | Report | Kim Kum-il 12' Jon Kwang-ik 89' (pen.) |
| Argentina | 1–0 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Agüero 35' | Report |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Group stage result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advance toknockout 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 |
| Nigeria | 1–0 | Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| Ideye 75' | Report |
| Costa Rica | 0–1 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Tanaka 68' |
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Congo | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 | Advance toknockout 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 |
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| 11 July –Edmonton | ||||||||||||||
| Austria | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 14 July –Toronto | ||||||||||||||
| Gambia | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Austria (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 11 July –Toronto | ||||||||||||||
| United States | 1 | |||||||||||||
| United States (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 18 July –Edmonton | ||||||||||||||
| Uruguay | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Austria | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 11 July –Burnaby | ||||||||||||||
| Czech Republic | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Spain (a.e.t.) | 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 (a.e.t.) | 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 | |||||||||||||
| 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 | FeninKúdelaSuchýPekhartOkleštěk |
| Spain | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Mata 110' | Report | Kalouda 103' |
| Penalties | ||
| Mata Adrián G. Valiente J. García Piqué | 3–4 | FeninSuchýKúdelaPekhart |
| Austria | 0–2 | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Mičola 4' Fenin 15' |
| Team details | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
Claudio YacobSebastian PrödlAmaralCarlos CarmonaHans MartínezAlexis SánchezMathías VidangossyFranchel IbaraGracia IkoumaErmejea NgakossoPablo HerreraJonathan McDonaldOndřej KúdelaJakub MarešTomáš MičolaMarek StřeštíkPierre GomezAbdoulie MansallyJun AoyamaTomoaki MakinoAtomu TanakaTsukasa Umesaki Lo'ay OmranChristian BermúdezOmar EsparzaJavier HernándezHéctor MorenoOsmar MaresJack PelterChukwuma AkabuezeElderson EchiéjiléBrown IdeyeKim Kum-ilJon Kwang-ikNelson BarahonaGrzegorz KrychowiakVitorino AntunesFeliciano CondessoRoss CampbellMark Reynolds
Lee Sang-hoShim Young-sungMarquitosAlberto BuenoDiego CapelJavi GarcíaGerard PiquéMario SuárezMichael BradleyClifford MulengaWilliam NjobvuFwayo TemboMathías Cardaccio (against the United States)Source:[7]
| 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 | ||
| 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 |
The quarter-final match between Chile and Nigeria occurred on FIFA's "Say No To Racism Day." During extra time, Chile'sJaime Grondona scored in the 96th minute, but Nigerian players protested that the goal was offside. Despite their appeals, refereeHoward Webb allowed the goal to stand, and goalkeeperIkechukwu Ezenwa received a yellow card for dissent. Subsequent replays showed a defender was out of position, confirming the goal was valid.[8][9]
After the match, Nigerian coachLadan Bosso accused Webb of racism at a press conference, stating, "The officiating, I think FIFA has a long way to go to beat racism because that official showed racism." When asked directly if he believed Webb was racist, Bosso replied, "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."[9] The FIFA Disciplinary Committee found Bosso guilty of "offensive behaviour" under Article 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, fining himCHF 11,000 and banning him for four months.
TheNigeria Football Federation (NFF) was also sanctioned for allowing players to wear T-shirts with religious statements under their game jerseys, violating tournament regulations that prohibit "political, religious, commercial, or personal messages" on team kits.[8]
On 19 July, a clash erupted between Chilean players and police following the semi-final match between Chile and Argentina. The Chilean players were furious with refereeWolfgang Stark, claiming he had "lost control of the match early on"[10] and criticizing his issuance of sevenyellow cards, twored cards,[11] and the 53 fouls committed during the game.[12] After the match, Chilean players surrounded Stark and his colleagues, prompting members of theToronto Police Service to intervene. Fearing an attack from the crowd or players, police escorted Stark off the pitch and into the dressing room tunnel.[13]
A brawl then broke out between several Chilean players, team delegates, and police outside Toronto's National Soccer Stadium.[14] According to Toronto Police ChiefBill Blair, the altercation began when Chilean players scuffled with a rival fan.[15] He added, "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."[15]
The Chilean players offered a different account, claiming thatIsaías Peralta had approached Chilean fans behind a security fence when about ten police officers stopped him. They alleged that a heated argument ensued, during which Peralta, who does not speak English, was verbally and physically abused by the officers.[16] Peralta wastasered by an officer and lost consciousness for 20 minutes.[16] Other players then struggled with the police before retreating to their bus. Eyewitnesses reported that players on the bus threw objects at police through the windows and tried to grab officers from inside the damaged vehicle.[17] Three minutes later,Harold Mayne-Nicholls, president of the Chilean National Association of Professional Football (ANFP), asked the players to board a different bus. As they exited, police detained them and took them back to the stadium.[18]
FIFA spokesman John Schumacher stated that the players were detained "to de-escalate the situation." Ten team members were held for over three hours and released without charges.[19] The following day, FIFA presidentSepp Blatter described the incident as "regrettable" and apologized on behalf of FIFA.[20] TheANFP hired a Toronto-based law firm to pursue legal action against the Toronto police.[18]
The incident made front-page headlines in Chile. The Canadian embassy in Santiago received a bomb threat, and protesters gathered outside holding signs that read, "Racist Canada."[21]Chilean PresidentMichelle Bachelet described the incident as "particularly serious because, in our view, the Chilean delegation suffered unjustified aggression"[20] and lodged a formal protest with the Canadian government.[22] In response,Canadian Prime MinisterStephen Harper remarked, "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."[22]
According to Canadian media, a Chilean team member punched a female police officer in the face before Peralta was tasered.[23][24] An internal review led by Superintendent Jim Ramer concluded that officers acted professionally and with "an immense amount of restraint." The report stated that Chilean players "punched, kicked, spat on, and kicked" police and security staff. It detailed that the violence began when two individuals unrelated to the game confronted each other, and that a Chilean player then punched a female officer. The violence escalated as players dismantled bus seats, smashing windows to throw objects such asD batteries, clothes hangers, anddeodorant cans at police, injuring four officers. FIFA agreed to cover the $35,000 cost of damages to the team's rented bus.[23]
Mayne-Nicholls, who witnessed the incident, stated, "I didn't see any Chilean player hitting any officer except between all the struggling." Patricio Bascuñán, president of the Salvador Allende Cultural Society of Toronto, called for an independent review.[23]
Grondona was suspended for nine months from all levels of play, including domestic and international, and fined CHF 7,000 for assaulting match officials. The Chilean football association was fined CHF 15,000 for "team misconduct."[25]
Japan and South Korea are also bidding against Canada
