BUENOS AIRES — The defensive wall of Uruguay and the Italy of the Golden Boot contender Cesare Casadei will meet on Sunday in the final of the U20 World Cup, a title that still has a vacancy in their showcases.
You can see the final on Telemundo
It will be the closing of a bumpy competition, which changed its original venue (Indonesia) a month after its start and suffered the premature elimination of the host Argentina and Brazil, the powers of the category with six and five trophies, respectively.
Despite having a youth system as rich in talent as its South American neighbours, Uruguay has yet to establish itself in a U20 World Cup.
He came close in the 1997 and 2013 finals, but Argentina and France, respectively, snatched the title from him. Italy, for its part, reaches this stage for the first time in its history.
“Italy have very good players, unbalanced, they have the top scorer of the tournament, they have very good offensive players. But we also have our weapons and we believe that we have the tools to be able to play a good match against him”, highlighted the Uruguayan coach, Marcelo Broli.
The South American team, which holds one of the least beaten fences in the tournament (2), will face an Italian offensive led by Casadei, author of seven goals and the tournament’s top scorer.
The English Reading midfielder will surely receive the Golden Boot. The only one who could snatch that honor is his Uruguayan rival Anderson Duarte, who follows him with three goals.
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“Surely Casadei and (Tommaso) Baldanzi are important, but also (Simone) Pafundi. Those who make it to these tournaments must have this kind of player, but also a strong group. The important thing is the whole team, that is our identity”, remarked the Italian strategist Carmine Nunziata.
“It is a historic result for us, we are the only Italian team to do it. We have to play and give it our all to try to win,” he added.
This third opportunity is unbeatable for La Celeste, because it will be home to the Único Diego Maradona de La Plata stadium due to its geographical proximity. More than 30,000 Uruguayans are expected in the stands.
“Obviously, we are moved and excited that people are with us,” Broli said. “But on the field, honestly, the planning goes the other way, we will not rest on the fact that we have people for or against. Uruguayan football has stood out because many times the great glories were achieved with the people against it”.
The most emblematic triumph was in the 1950 World Cup in the remembered final against Brazil at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
The Uruguayan strategist admitted that he is concerned about the state of Diego Maradona’s field. “It’s a pity to play a world final on such a terrain, it hurts football.”
After dealing with injuries and suspensions starting in the round of 16, Broli will have forwards Luciano Rodríguez, Andrés Ferrari and Matías Abaldo.
At the Azzurra, coach Nunziata is pondering whether to include Pafundi, the author of a free kick that gave them a 2-1 win over South Korea in the semifinal. The Udinese striker is a particular case: he jumped from the Sub17 to the senior team – he made his debut in November 2022 – and then joined the Sub20.ADVERTISEMENT
As a backdrop to the final, there is the historic battle between South America and Europe. Brazil was the last to turn the Olympic Games in 2011. Then followed the titles of France (2013), Serbia (2015), England (2017) and Ukraine (2019).
Earlier and on the same stage, Israel and South Korea will play for third place.
