| 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 → | |
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 the score 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[1] 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,[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 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.[5] Attendance totalled 1,195,299 after the final match.
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]
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 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 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 |
| 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 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 |
| 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 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 |
| 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 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 |
| 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 | |||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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:[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 | ||
| 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 took place on FIFA's "Say No To Racism Day." During extra time, Chile'sJaime Grondona scored in the 96th minute, but Nigerian players claimed the goal was offside. Despite their protests, refereeHoward Webb allowed the goal to stand, and goalkeeperIkechukwu Ezenwa received a yellow card for his dissent. Replays later showed that a defender was out of position, confirming that the goal was not offside.[9][10]
After the match, Nigerian coachLadan Bosso accused Webb of racism during 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."[10] The coach was finedCHF 11,000 and banned for four months after the FIFA Disciplinary Committee found him guilty of "offensive behaviour" under Article 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.TheNigeria Football Federation (NFF) was also sanctioned for allowing players to wear T-shirts with religious statements under their game jerseys. This violated tournament regulations, 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]
On 19 July, a clash erupted between Chilean players and police officers 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"[11] and criticizing the issuance of sevenyellow cards and twored cards,[12] as well as the 53 fouls committed during the game.[13] After the match, Stark and his colleagues were surrounded by Chilean players, prompting members of theToronto Police Service to intervene and restrain them. Stark was escorted off the pitch and into the dressing room tunnel by police amid concerns that he might be attacked by the crowd or players.[14]
A brawl subsequently broke out between several Chilean players, team delegates, and police outside Toronto's National Soccer Stadium.[15] According to Toronto Police ChiefBill Blair, the altercation began when Chilean players scuffled with a rival fan.[16] 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."[16] However, the Chilean players claimed thatIsaías Peralta had approached Chilean fans behind a security fence but was stopped by about ten police officers. They alleged that a heated argument ensued, during which Peralta (who does not speak English) was verbally and physically abused by the officers.[17]
Peralta wastasered by a police officer and lost consciousness for 20 minutes.[17] Other players then became involved in a struggle with the police before eventually returning to their bus and closing 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, 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, police took them back to the stadium.[19]
FIFA spokesman John Schumacher stated, "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 for over three hours and then released without charges."[20] The following day, FIFA presidentSepp Blatter described the incident as "regrettable" during a press conference in Toronto and apologized on behalf of FIFA.[21] TheANFP hired a Toronto-based law firm to pursue legal action against the Toronto police.[19]
The incident made front-page headlines in every major Chilean newspaper. Following the clash, the Canadian embassy in Santiago received a bomb threat, and angry Chileans protested outside the embassy, holding signs that read, "Racist Canada."[22]Chilean PresidentMichelle 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 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."[23]
According to Canadian media reports, 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 concluded that officers acted professionally and with "an immense amount of restraint" during the conflict outside BMO Field. The report stated that Chilean players "punched, kicked, spat on, and kicked" police and security staff. The violence reportedly began when two individuals unrelated to the game confronted each other. Security guards intervened, followed by police, after a Chilean player punched a female officer. The report further detailed that the violence escalated as Chilean players dismantled armrests and footrests from bus seats, smashing windows to throw objects such asD batteries, clothes hangers, anddeodorant cans at police. Four officers were reportedly injured by projectiles. FIFA agreed to cover the $35,000 cost of damages to the team's rented bus.[24]
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.[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."[26]
Japan and South Korea are also bidding against Canada
