- 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
Infobox International Football Competition
year = 2007
other_titles = FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007
size = 150px
caption = 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup official logo
country = Canada
dates =June 30 –July 22
num_teams = 24
confederations = 6
venues = 6
cities = 6
champion = Argentina
count = 6
second = Czech Republic
third = Chile
fourth = Austria
matches = 52
goals = 135
attendance = #expr: 55800 +55800 +26559+ +26559 +11500 +10000 +10000 +11500 +19526 +19526 +19526 +19899 +22200 +35801 +35801 +23500 +10500 +10000 +10000 +10500 +19526 +31579 +19526 +31579 +34912 +26559 +26559 +34912 +11500 +10000 +10000 +11500 +29792 +28402 +32058 +19526 +18721 +19526 +10000 +11500 +22531 +19526 +40264 +24687 +19526 +26801 +46252 +26559 +28401 +19526 +19526 +19526
top_scorer = flagicon|ArgentinaSergio Agüero (6 goals)
player = flagicon|ArgentinaSergio Agüero
updated =The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the sixteenth edition of the
FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted byCanada fromJune 30 toJuly 22 ,2007 . Argentina defeated Czech 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-20 Golden Shoe (top scorer with 6 goals) and the FIFA U-20 Golden Ball (best player of the tournament), while Japan earned the FIFA 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 & Caribbean) andCONMEBOL (South America) four teams each; and OFC (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 new National Soccer Stadium ["National Soccer Stadium" was the temporary name of theBMO Field during this tournament, as FIFA prohibits sponsorship of stadia unless the stadium sponsor is also an official FIFA sponsor.] where the final match was held.On
June 28 ,2007 , two days before the inaugural match, it was reported that 950,000 tickets had been sold, [cite web |url=http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=2755 |title=FIFA U-20 World Cup surpasses 950,000 spectators |publisher=CanadaSoccer.com |date=2007-06-28 |accessdate=2007-07-01] making it the largest single-sport event ever taking place in the country, [cite web |url=http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/organisation/media/newsid=112480.html#history+made+with+canada+2007+ticket+sales |title=History made with Canada 2007 ticket sales |publisher=FIFA |date=2007-03-01 |accessdate=2007-07-01] and onJuly 3 , the tournament organisers sold the one millionth ticket. [cite web
url=http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/news/newsid=543909.html#fast+starts+mexico+portugal |title=Fast starts for Mexico, Portugal |publisher=FIFA.com |date=2007-07-03
accessdate=2007-07-04] OnJuly 19 , the semifinal match between Chile and Argentina marked this edition as the most attended in the tournament's history, with an accumulated attendance of 1,156,187 spectators, surpassing Mexico 1983's 1,155,160 spectators.cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/fifau20/story/2007/07/20/fifa-canada-attendance-record.html |title=Canada sets U-20 World Cup attendance record |date=2007-07-20 |publisher=CBC Sports |accessdate=2007-07-22] Final attendance totalled 1,195,299.Venues
Group A
footballbox|date=
July 2 ,2007
14:15EDT
18:15UTC
team1=fb-rt|POR
score=2 – 0
team2=fb|NZL
goals1=Gama goal|45 goal|61|pen.
goals2=
stadium=National Soccer Stadium,Toronto
attendance=19,526
referee=Hernando Buitrago flagicon|COL (COL)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=58860/summary.html Report] ----footballbox|date=July 2 ,2007
17:00EDT
21:00UTC
team1=fb-rt|GAM
score=0 – 3
team2=fb|MEX
goals1=
goals2=Giovani goal|57
Moreno goal|67Javier Hernández goal|89
stadium=National Soccer Stadium,Toronto
attendance=19,526
referee=Ravshan Irmatov flagicon|UZB (UZB)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=58859/index.html Report] ----footballbox|date=July 5 ,2007
17:00EDT
21:00UTC
team1=fb-rt|NZL
score=0 – 1
team2=fb|GAM
goals1=
goals2= Jallow goal|22
stadium=National Soccer Stadium,Toronto
attendance=11,869
referee=Joel Aguilar flagicon|SLV (SLV)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=58858/report.html Report] ----footballbox|date=July 5 ,2007
19:45EDT
23:45UTC
team1=fb-rt|MEX
score= 2 – 1
team2=fb|POR
goals1= Giovani goal|48|pen.
Barrera goal|66
goals2= Antunes goal|89
stadium=National Soccer Stadium,Toronto
attendance=19,526
referee=Howard Webb flagicon|ENG (ENG)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=58857/report.html Report] ----footballbox|date=July 8 ,2007
17:15EDT
21:15UTC
team1=fb-rt|POR
score= 1 – 2
team2=fb|GAM
goals1= Condesso goal|20|
goals2= Jallow goal|44|pen. Mansally goal|68
stadium=Olympic Stadium,Montreal
attendance=28,402
referee=Wolfgang Stark flagicon|GER (GER)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=58856/report.html Report] ----footballbox|date=July 8 ,2007
15:15MDT
21:15UTC
team1=fb-rt|NZL
score=1 – 2
team2=fb|MEX
goals1= Pelter goal|89|
goals2= Bermudez goal|24|
Mares goal|78|
stadium=Commonwealth Stadium,Edmonton
attendance=29,792
referee=Mohamed Benouza flagicon|ALG (ALG)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=58855/report.html Report]Group D
footballbox|date=
July 1 ,2007
14:15PDT
21:15UTC
team1=fb-rt|JPN
score= 3 – 1
team2=fb|SCO
goals1=Morishima goal|43 Umesaki goal|57 Aoyama goal|79
goals2=Campbell goal|82
stadium=Royal Athletic Park , Victoria
attendance=11,500
referee=German Arredondo flagicon|MEX (MEX)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=58878/summary.html Report] ----footballbox|date=July 1 ,2007
17:00PDT
00:00UTC
team1=fb-rt|NGA
score=1 – 0
team2=fb|CRC
goals1=Ideye goal|75
goals2=
stadium=Royal Athletic Park , Victoria
attendance=11,500
referee=Peter O'Leary flagicon|NZL (NZL)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=58877/summary.html Report] ----footballbox
date=July 4 ,2007
17:00PDT
00:00UTC
team1=fb-rt|CRC
score=0 – 1
team2=fb|JPN
goals1=
goals2=Tanaka goal|68
stadium=Royal Athletic Park , Victoria
attendance=10,500
referee=Wolfgang Stark flagicon|GER (GER)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=59205/summary.html Report] ----footballbox|date=July 4 ,2007
19:45PDT
02:45UTC
team1=fb-rt|SCO
score=0 – 2
team2=fb|NGA
goals1=
goals2=Bala goal|49 goal|78
stadium=Royal Athletic Park , Victoria
attendance=10,500
referee=Terry Vaughn flagicon|USA (USA)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=58876/summary.html Report] ----footballbox|date=July 7 ,2007
17:00PDT
00:00UTC
team1=fb-rt|JPN
score=0 – 0
team2=fb|NGA
goals1=
goals2=
stadium=Royal Athletic Park , Victoria
attendance=11,500
referee=German Arredondo flagicon|MEX (MEX)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=58874/report.html Report] ----footballbox|date=July 7 ,2007
17:00PDT
00:00UTC
team1=fb-rt|SCO
score=1 – 2
team2=fb|CRC
goals1=Reynolds goal|18
goals2=Herrera goal|57 McDonald goal|90+2
stadium=Swangard Stadium ,Burnaby
attendance=10,000
referee=Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh flagicon|MAS (MAS)
report= [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249401/match=58873/report.html Report]Third place rankings
The best four third-placed teams also advance to the knockout stage. The final standings are shown below.
Controversies
Nigerian accusations of racism
The Chile-Nigeria quarter-final match took place on FIFA's "Say No To Racism Day". During extra time, Chile's
Mauricio Isla scored at the 96th minute. The Nigerians argued that it was offside, though refereeHoward Webb allowed the goal to stand. Replays showed that a defender was caught out of place on an offside trap. KeeperIkechukwu Ezenwu was shown the yellow card for his protest. [http://www.cbc.ca/sports/fifau20/blog-howard/2007/07/dont_blame_the_ref.html] [http://www.cbc.ca/sports/fifau20/story/2007/07/17/nigeriancoach-ref.html]At a post-game news conference, Nigerian coach
Ladan Bosso said "What happened on the pitch, the officiating, I think FIFA has a long way to go to beat racism, because that official showed racism." When asked if he felt Webb was a racist, Bosso said only that "It's good for FIFA to bring in the fight against racism, but they have to follow it to the letter, so the implementation will be done." [http://www.cbc.ca/sports/fifau20/story/2007/07/17/nigeriancoach-ref.html] The coach was fined CHF 11,000 and banned for four months, as the disciplinary committee found him guilty of "offensive behaviour" under the terms of article 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/organisation/media/newsid=571192.html]The Nigerian FA was also sanctioned for allowing the players to wear t-shirts with religious statements under their game jerseys. This was a clear violation of the regulations of the tournament that 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 ..." [http://www.cbc.ca/sports/fifau20/blog-howard/2007/07/dont_blame_the_ref.html]
Chilean clash with Police
On
July 19 ,2007 , there was a very controversial semifinal match betweenChile andArgentina . RefereeWolfgang Stark was criticized by the Chilean players for his officiating, having "lost control of the match early" [ [http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/238024 TheStar.com | Sports | Beautiful game turns ugly ] ] and for issuing sevenyellow card s (out of nine) and twored card s against the Chilean team during the match [ [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/round=249411/match=58893/statistics.html FIFA.com ] ] . In total he issued 53 fouls, 30 of which he charged to Chile. [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/07/20/bc.soc.u20.chilefight.ap/index.html] and 23 to Argentina.Chilean striker Nicolás Medina hinted that he felt that the referee was favoring the Argentine team, stating that "Eleven against eleven, the game would have been much more fair." [http://www.metronews.ca/story.aspx?id=63556 Argentina dives to finals ] ] . Added to this is the perception that the Argentine players were able to employ "diving" tactics and "theatrics" to influence the referee's calls. However, before the game the Chilean players had suffered from a lot of pressure imposed by their own national media who saw a victory against Argentina as a national priority and described the match as a war more than as a normal confrontation between two football teams. Probably because of that pressure, the Chilean players started to lose their self-control on the field very early and resorted to putting constant pressure on Stark by systematically challenging every single one of his decisions. During one of those heated arguments, a Chilean fan invaded the pitch and attempted to physically assault the referee. The abusive fan had to be restrained by the Canadian police and even by some members of the Chilean squad.
Following the match, Stark and his colleagues were surrounded by livid Chilean players who were restrained by members of the
Toronto Police . Stark then had to be escorted off of the pitch and into the dressing room tunnel by police officers for fear that he would be attacked by the crowd and/or Chilean players at the National Soccer Stadium. [http://www.cbc.ca/sports/fifau20/story/2007/07/19/fifa-u20-argentina-chile.html Argentina advances to FIFA U-20 final - FIFA U-20 - Sports - CBC.ca ] ]Afterwards, several players and delegates of the Chilean team were involved in a brawl with police outside
Toronto 's National Soccer Stadium, [ [Reuters: "Chile soccer players clash with Toronto police"; July 20, 2007] ] which ended with several Chileans injured, then handcuffed and detained inside the stadium. How the events unfolded is not unanimous, with two currently existing versions.Players' version
According to the Chilean players and some witnesses, at 10:22 p.m. (local time) Chilean player
Isaías Peralta — before getting on the team bus — walked towards a crowd of Chilean fans stationed behind a security fence some 50 metres away from the bus, but was stopped by about ten policemen some 30 metres away from the fence. A heated discussion took place, where Peralta (who speaks no English) was verbally and physically abused by the policemen. Peralta wastaser ed by one police officer and he lost consciousness for 20 minutes. Chilean playerArturo Vidal arrived at the scene to help his team mate and got involved in a struggle with the police. Other eyewitnesses stated it was Chilean goalkeeperCristopher Toselli who walked towards the fans when he was grabbed by a security guard, prompting the melee. [ [http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/239050 Campbell, Morgan; "Toronto Star": CSA seeking witnesses to Chile brawl; July 24, 2007] ] This was noticed by the other players inside the bus, who also got involved in the struggle with the police. All players — except Peralta, who lay unconscious on the ground — got back on the bus and closed the doors to keep the police out. A policewoman noticed this and threw atear gas canister (or something to that effect) inside the bus. The players panicked and started breaking windows to let air in. Three minutes later the president of the Chilean National Association of Professional Football (ANFP),Harold Mayne-Nicholls , asked the players to descend from the bus to take a different one. As the players were getting off the bus they were violently detained by police; some players were even handcuffed.Alexis Sánchez — who was coming out of theantidoping test — heard some people screaming and arrived at the scene, but was also beaten by police. The police then took the players back to the stadium. Christian Suárez – arriving from the mixed zone – was also detained." [http://papeldigital.info/lt/edicion.html?20070721010011 La Tercera] "July 21 2007 edition] Peralta claimed that after he regained consciousness: "I saw 10 police officers were hitting me and throwing acid in my face;" and also claimed the police removed an object the size of a match from his back so the press wouldn't be able to see it. [http://www.emol.com/noticias/deportes/detalle/detallenoticias.asp?idnoticia=263142 Sub 20: Los jugadores contaron su impactante versión de los hechos] ", "El Mercurio Online", "agencias", accessedJuly 21 2007 ] Other Chilean players said to the Chilean press that the Canadian police treated them like criminals, usedpepper spray and Tasers on them, threatened them with legal action, and that while they were on the team's dressing room showing each others wounds, they were laughed at. During the Sunday final Mayne-Nicholls – who is also a FIFA official – allegedly identified the policeman who gave the order to use gas on the players and asked him why he had acted that way; Mayne-Nicholls claimed the policeman responded: "We use gas and electricity when we deal with criminals like yours." [" [http://www.tercera.com/medio/articulo/0,0,3308_5804_284310993,00.html Mayne-Nicholls relató inéditos detalles de golpiza en Canadá] " "La Tercera ", accessed onJuly 24 2007 ]Police version
The police version of the events, as given by Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, claimed that the melee began when Chilean players got into a scuffle with a rival fan. [http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/news_story/?ID=214113&hubname= Chilean officials blame Police for melee] , tsn.ca, accessed
July 20 2007 ] He added that "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." According to eyewitness accounts, the players on the bus began throwing things at police through the windows and tried to grab officers from inside the damaged bus." [http://www.mytelus.com/ncp_news/article.en.do?pn=canada&articleID=2724861 Chile officials say Toronto police to blame for soccer team's post-match brawl] " "Canadian Press ", accessedJuly 21 2007 ] FIFA spokesman John Schumacher said: "The Chilean players were detained by the police to de-escalate the situation that was taking place in front of the stadium." [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070720/Chile_FIFA_070720/20070720?hub=Canada CTV News: "Chile officials blame T.O. police for soccer brawl"; July 20, 2007] ]Eyewitness accounts stated that the altercation began as the Chilean players were heading to their bus, across the driveway from the doors of the stadium. There was apparently yelling near the bus, and then a scuffle erupted. Nathan Denette, a reported for
Canadian Press stated: "Next thing you know, the bus just unloads and there's eight, 10 players come off the bus and there's just fists flying everywhere, between the cops, the security guards, a couple of ladies were involved that were security." As the conflict became more heated, a police officer did use a Taser – though it was unclear if it was used on a player or an official with the Chilean team – after which the brawl became even more intense. It was also asserted that any bruises sustained by anyone involved were "tiny." [ [Warmington, Joe; "Toronto Sun": Chileans' conduct shameful; July 23, 2007] ]Press shut-out
The Chilean press alleged that all press were removed from the area by security personnel since the incident's start, threatened with the removal of their tapes if they recorded anything and locked inside a room for several minutes. [" [http://impreso.elmercurio.com/_portada/index.asp El Mercurio] "
July 20 2007 edition]Aftermath
Ten Chilean team members were detained over three hours and then released without charges." [http://papeldigital.info/lt/edicion.html?20070722010011 La Tercera] "
July 22 2007 edition.] FIFA presidentSepp Blatter said the next day at a press conference in Toronto that the incident was "regrettable" and that he "apologized in the name of FIFA." The ANFP (Chilean Professional Football Association) hired a Toronto law firm to pursue legal action against the Toronto police.In Chile the incident was on the front page of every major newspaper. The Canadian embassy in Santiago received a bomb threat and angry Chileans protested outside the embassy with signs reading "Racist Canada." [" [http://www.thestar.com/News/article/238415 Toronto melee a global dust-up] ", thestar.com, accessed
July 21 2007 ] Chile's President,Michelle Bachelet , said that the incident was "especially serious because, in our opinion, the Chilean delegation suffered unjustified aggression,"" [http://news.scotsman.com/latest_international.cfm?id=1136852007 Chile football players face FIFA probe after brawl] ", "Reuters ", accessedJuly 21 2007 ] and lodged a formal protest with the Canadian government.Babage, Maria, [http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/2007/07/19/4353613-cp.html T.O. cops under scrutiny] , Slam.ca, July 20, 2007] In response, Canadian Prime Minister,Stephen Harper , remarked that "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."It was reported in the Canadian media on July 30, 2007, that Isaias Peralta had confessed to Santiago's "
El Mercurio " that one of the Chilean team members had punched a female police office in the face before Peralta had been tasered, but maintained that the Toronto police had assaulted the Chilean team members before they retaliated; the following day Peralta denied making the comments. [http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/241551 Powell, Betsy; Dale, Daniel; "Toronto Star": Officers cleared in soccer scuffle; July 31, 2007] ] Police spokesperson Mark Pugash affirmed a female officer had been hit in the face, and stated the Chilean's violent behaviour prompted police to use Tasers and pepper spray, upholding the story that the Chileans had started the mêlée by confronting an Argentinean fan. [ [http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Soccer/article/241192 Dale, Daniel; "Toronto Star": Chilean player admits officer was punched; July 30, 2007] ] After an internal review headed by Superintendent Jim Ramer – in which witnesses, including event security officials, members of the Ontario Soccer Association, the BMO Field event coordinator, and the driver of the Chilean bus, offered statements – a report issued by theToronto Police Service on July 31, 2007, found that officers had acted professionally and with "with an immense amount of restraint" during the conflict outside theBMO Field , in which Chilean players "punched, kicked, spat on and kicked" police and security staff. The report stated that the violence started when two people not involved in the game confronted each other. Security guards first attempted to intervene, and then police, which is when a Chilean player punched a female police officer in the face. From that point, the report said the violence escalated; Chilean players dismantled the armrests and footrests from the bus seats, and smashed the windows in order to spit at and throw these objects, plus D-cell batteries, clothes hangers, and cans ofdeodorant at the police. Four officers were reportedly injured by projectiles. FIFA agreed to pay for the $35,000 in damages to the team's rented bus.Harold Mayne-Nicholls, chair of the Football Federation of Chile and a witness to the event said: "I didn't see any Chilean player hitting any officer except between all the struggling." Patricio Bascunan, president of the Salvador Allende Cultural Society of Toronto, said an independent review was needed.
Disciplinary Measures
Chile's
Jaime Grondona was suspended for nine months at all levels (domestic and international) and fined CHF 7,000 (including procedural costs) for assaulting match officials. The Chilean football association was fined CHF 15,000 for "team misconduct". [http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/organisation/media/newsid=571192.html]ee also
*
Canadian Soccer Association
*2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup References
External links
* [http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/index/0,2442,U20M2007,00.html?comp=U20M&year=2007 FIFA.com: FIFA U-20 World Cup 2007]
* [http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/U20WC_2007/ Canada Soccer Association - U-20 World Cup 2007]
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