The Brazilian National Team led by Ramon Menezes is one of the attractions of the Under-20 World Cup, which will start this Saturday (27) in Chile. It will be another chance to end the title drought ...
The Brazilian National Team led by Ramon Menezes is one of the attractions of the Under-20 World Cup, which will start this Saturday (27) in Chile.
It will be another chance to end the title drought in the category, as the last trophy was in 2011 with Oscar, Philippe Coutinho, and Henrique Almeida shining.
The last Brazilian final was in 2015, when Serbia came out on top. Andreas Pereira and Gabriel Jesus were standout players.
See below a summary of the 25th edition of the competition.
Including the groups, how Brazil qualified, the squad, and all the champions.
💎 See five stars who 'were born' in Under-20 World Cups
Groups 👇🏽
A: Chile, New Zealand, Japan, and Egypt
B: South Korea, Ukraine, Paraguay, and Panama
C: Brazil, Mexico, Morocco, and Spain
D: Italy, Australia, Cuba, and Argentina
E: United States, New Caledonia, France, and South Africa
F: Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Norway, and Nigeria
Regulations 📝
The top two teams from each group qualify for the round of 16, totaling 12.
The other spots will be filled by the four best third-placed teams.
The tiebreaker criteria are: 1) goal difference; 2) goals scored; 3) head-to-head; 4) fewer yellow and red cards, and 5) draw.
Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final are single matches with extra time and, if necessary, penalty shootouts.
There's only ONE debutant
The only team among the 24 participants that has never played in an Under-20 World Cup is New Caledonia.
They qualified after being runners-up in the Oceania Under-19 to New Zealand.
The record holder for appearances in the tournament is Brazil: 20.
They only missed out in 1979, 2013, 2017, and 2019.
Next are Argentina and the United States with 18 each.
Brazil suffered a setback before qualifying
The South American Championship in the category was held earlier this year.
And the Brazilian National Team underperformed before qualifying with a title.
They suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat to Argentina right in the opening round of the group stage.
They only advanced to the Final Hexagonal thanks to Ecuador's 0-0 draw against Argentina in the last round.
Brazil finished third with six points, two more than Ecuador, who had a superior goal difference.
The story would be different in the "moment of truth".
The penultimate round of the Hexagonal featured a decisive Brazil vs. Argentina.
The Argentinians took the lead with Echeverri, but a goal from Rayan, from Vasco, secured a valuable 1-1 draw.
The Brazilian National Team reached the final round depending only on themselves, defeated Chile, and celebrated.
Meanwhile, Argentina - who needed a big win and some luck - were defeated by Paraguay.
'Curse' was maintained 😨
Luciano Rodriguez's Uruguay, former Bahia player, won the 2023 edition by beating Italy in the final.
But they are not among the attractions of this edition, as they only scored one point in the Final Hexagonal of this year's South American Championship.
Only the top four qualified. Uruguay was fifth.
The Celeste EXTENDED the "curse" started in 2009, when the then-champion Argentina missed out after winning the trophy in 2007 with Agüero and Di María.
Ghana (2011), Brazil (2013), France (2015), Serbia (2017), England (2019), and Ukraine (2023) also failed to defend their respective titles.
The Brazilian National Team squad 🇧🇷
The only change in the original list released by the CBF was the removal of Felipe Longo from Corinthians.
He is considered the immediate substitute for Hugo Souza, and therefore, a request was made for his withdrawal. Pedro Cobra from Galo got the chance.
Some players had already been previously vetoed by their clubs. Such is the case of Rayan, a key player for Vasco.
Goalkeepers: Pedro Cobra (Atlético-MG), Lucas Furtado (Vitoria de Guimarães-POR), and Otávio (Cruzeiro)
Defenders: Gilberto (Palmeiras), Igor Serrote (Al-Jazira- EAU), Leandrinho (Vasco), Léo Dérik (Athletico), Bruno Alves (Cruzeiro), Iago (Flamengo), and João Souza (Flamengo)
Midfielders: Coutinho (Palmeiras), João Cruz (Athletico), Murilo (Cruzeiro), Rayan Lucas (Sporting-POR), and Rhuan Gabriel (Cruzeiro)
Forwards: Deivid Washington (Chelsea), Erick Belé (Palmeiras), Gustavo Prado (Internacional), Luighi (Palmeiras), Pedrinho (Zenit), and Wesley (Al-Nassr)
All the champions 🏆
With five trophies, Brazil aims to match record-holder Argentina, who is the greatest champion with five titles.
They have faced each other in two finals: Brazil's victory in 1983 with a goal from Geovani, a product of Vasco, and Argentina's revenge in 1995.
Brazil has a total of four runner-up finishes: 1991 (Portugal), 1995 (Argentina), 2009 (Ghana), and 2015 (Serbia). It is the country with the most finals in history.
Argentina, on the other hand, only failed to win in 1983 when they reached the final.
Check below who won each edition:
1977 - Soviet Union
1979 - Argentina
1981 - West Germany
1983 - Brazil
1985 - Brazil
1987 - Yugoslavia
1989 - Portugal
1991 - Portugal
1993 - Brazil
1995 - Argentina
1997 - Argentina
1999 - Spain
2001 - Argentina
2003 - Brazil
2005 - Argentina
2007 - Argentina
2009 - Ghana
2011 - Brazil
2013 - France
2015 - Serbia
2017 - England
2019 - Ukraine
2023 - Uruguay
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
📸 RODRIGO ARANGUA - AFP or licensors
Category: General Sports
