Argentina Defends Its Crown, Beats Czechs 2–1 in FIFA U-20

Argentina found a late winner to beat the Czech Republic 2–1 to repeat as FIFA U-20 World Cup Champions in Toronto on Sunday afternoon.

The final between the Czechs and the Argentines was a battle between the Czechs' size and the Argentines' finesse. The Argentines would try and control the tempo, working their intricate passing while the Czechs would try to disrupt and counter-attack.

In a fairly even first half, the Czechs unsettled the Argentines, and with a few free-kicks from dangerous positions, could've taken the lead. Argentina didn't create anything too dangerous and the Czechs looked comfortable defending the 18-yard box. Little Maxi Moralez was the most dangerous Argentine.

The second half sparked to life as the Czechs took the lead on the 60th minute. Striker Martin Fenin's beautiful turnaround volley found the bottom right corner.

But the Czech lead was short lived. To Argentina's credit, they struck back two minutes later. Midfield general Ever Banega found a hole between the Czech defense with a killer pass. Star-striker Sergio Aguero slid the ball past Czech keeper Radek Petr for his sixth goal of the tournament. He would go on to win the Golden Boot Award as the tournament's top scorer.

"At no time did we despair," said Aguero.

The Czechs were stunned by the sudden turnaround as Argentina tightened the screws after the goal. The South Americans brought on substitute Lautaro Acosta whose speed and energy added further pressure to a weakening Czech defense that was constantly berated by Petr.

It looked like we'd be seeing extra time and penalty kicks but Argentina had other ideas. After Acosta's near miss generated a corner kick for the Argentines, Mauro Zarate, who found himself back in the starting line-up, fired a low shot to the near post that Radek Petr couldn't handle.

Four minutes from the end of the game, Argentina had snagged the winner, sending their fans into delerium—a fitting end to an excellent tournament.

Czech striker Martin Fenin (#9) celebrates his wonder goal which very briefly gave his team the lead. Argentina would strike back two minutes later. (Michael Comas/The Epoch Times)

Argentine coach Hugo Tocalli reflected on the quality of his team and reasons for Argentina's success. "This was the best team. The teams for Qatar, Malaysia [previous Argentine U-20 winning teams] were different. The team in Holland with Messi was another team.

"When Argentina separated the youth side from the national side in 1994. It produced great results. The Argentine championship is very competitive."

Tocalli also spoke at length about how good it feels to win when you are the one making the decisions.

Bronze for Chile

The third-place match between Chile and Austria turned out to be a highly competitive match. Sometimes, these third-place matches take on a kind of jaded feel as both teams rest key players realizing their dreams are done. But to both Chile's and Austria's credit, the players battled to the very end.

Ultimately, Chile held on for a narrow 1–0 win. Credit to Chilean keeper Toselli for swatting a ball out of the air as it approached the goal-line to preserve the shutout.

Toselli broke the record in this tournament for most consecutive minutes without allowing a goal (484 minutes).

One can only hope the bronze medal will wash out some of the bitter taste left in Chilean mouths given the ugly incidents after the Argentina semifinal involving Toronto police and Chilean players and staff. The Chilean fans at the game certainly won't forget the treatment Toronto's police gave their heros.