Uruguay beat Italy in final minutes to win their first U20 World Cup

Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 in the Under-20 World Cup final in Argentina at the Diego Maradona Stadium to win this competition for the first time in their history.

Before this triumph, Uruguay had lost two finals in this competition; 2-1 in 1997 to Argentina and 4-1 on penalties to France in 2013.

Uruguay’s goal was scored by 19-year-old Luciano Rodriguez in the 86^th minute, a headed goal from close range. The win means Uruguay are the first nation outside Europe to win the FIFA U20 World Cup since 2011 when Brazil won it in Colombia.

Rodriguez, who plays for Liverpool Montevideo in Uruguay, was emotional after the match and called the victory a dream.

“This is crazy, crazy, crazy and we deserve it. We are living a dream,” Rodriguez said, as quoted by The Athletic.

Italy were beaten on the final but they didn’t come out empty handed. Apart from the runners-up medal, their striker Cesare Casadei won the golden boot after outscoring everyone at the tournament with seven goals.

The FIFA U20 World Cup was introduced in 1977 and Aregentina have won it the most times with six, while Brazil come second with five titles. Ghana is the only African nation to win this competition. The beat Brazil 4-3 on penalties in 2009.

The tournament has featured and produced numerous players that have gone to become big stars namely; Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, Sergio Aguero among others.