Maradona, Messi and Pogba were all crowned best player at FIFA's youth showcase
FIFA calls its men's Under-20 World Cup the tournament of tomorrow's superstars, and the honours list backs it up. Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba each won its player of the tournament award, and Erling Haaland finished as top scorer in 2019. Morocco are the reigning champions.
The competition began in Tunisia in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship and has been played every two years since, taking its current name in 2007. It is open to men's national teams with players up to 20 years old. Twenty-four teams reach the finals: the host qualifies automatically, and the other 23, defending champions included, must earn their places through youth championships run by the six continental confederations.
South America has owned the event. Across 23 editions, twelve countries have lifted the trophy, and Argentina leads with six titles, one more than Brazil. Portugal and Serbia have two each, with one of Serbia's won under the Yugoslavia name. Ghana, Germany, Spain, France, England, Ukraine, Uruguay and Morocco have one apiece, as does the Soviet Union, whose title is now credited to Russia. By confederation, CONMEBOL counts twelve titles, UEFA ten and Africa's CAF two.
Some regions are still waiting for their breakthrough. Asian teams have reached the final three times and lost to strong European opponents on every occasion. Mexico is the only North or Central American side ever to play in the final, losing to the Soviet Union in that first tournament in 1977. No current member of the Oceania confederation has reached the semi-finals; Australia got that far, but while it still belonged to Oceania, before it moved to the Asian confederation in 2006.
Beyond the trophy, individual prizes are handed out each time: a Golden Ball for the best player, a Golden Boot for the leading scorer, a Golden Glove for the top goalkeeper, and a Fair Play Trophy for the team with the cleanest disciplinary record.
Source: FIFA U-20 World Cup
