England won the U20 World Cup on Sunday, with Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke winning the Golden Ball, joining greats such as Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero, but does becoming the best player at the U20 World Cup guarantee future success?
We’ve looked at the last 10 U20 World Cups and seen whether being a World Cup winner at junior level equates to senior success.
1997 Argentina
This Argentina side featured a host of players who would go on to become stars of the game, including Juan Roman Riquelme, Esteban Cambiasso and Walter Samuel, but their top scorer Bernardo Romeo didn’t go on to achieve the same level of success as his teammates. He managed just four caps for the national side and spent the majority of his career in Argentina, retiring in 2012 at San Lorenzo.
1999 Spain
This Spanish side featured both Xavi Hernandez and Iker Casillas, who would go on to become legendary figures in Spain’s success in the late 2000s, but their attack was led by Pablo Counago, formally of Ipswich. Unlike Xavi and Casillas, who between them won seven Champions Leagues, 13 domestic titles and 300 caps, Counago never received a senior call-up for the national side.
2001 Argentina
Javier Saviola won the U20 Golden Ball and Golden Boot in 2001, following 11 goals in seven games. He went on to win league titles across Europe as well as in his native Argentina with River Plate. Andres D’Alessandro, who went on to play for Portsmouth, also played in this Argentina team. Both went on to win a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games and came second in the Copa America of the same year.
2003 Brazil
This team featured Dani Alves and Fernandinho, but it was Dudu Cearense who was Brazil’s best player, scoring four goals in seven games in the UAE. Dudu went on to have a journeyman career, while Alves went on to become one of the best right backs of all time. The UAE’s Ismail Matar won the 2003 Golden Ball. He has spent his entire career in his homeland with Al-Wahda.
2005 Argentina
This tournament featured Lionel Messi, who has gone on to become one of the greatest players of all time. He claimed the Golden Ball in 2005 to continue Argentina’s excellent record in the competition. There was a lot of excitement about the 17-year old Messi in 2005 and with five Ballon d’Or victories, he’s more than justified the expectation.
2007 Argentina
Argentina won the competition again and another striker made his name. Sergio Aguero won the Golden Boot and Golden Ball after scoring six goals in the tournament, including the opener in the final. Aguero has become one of the world’s most prolific strikers, whereas teammate and scorer of the other goal in the final, Mauro Zarate, has become a journeyman.
2009 Ghana
Ghana became the first and only African nation to win the U20 World Cup in 2009, overcoming Brazil on penalties in the final. Dominic Adiyiah was their star player, scoring eight goals in seven games, but his career has very much tailed off. He joined AC Milan after the tournament, but failed to make a start for the Italian giants. He’s now playing in Thailand for Nakhon Ratchasima and has scored 38 goals in 58 games.
2011 Brazil
Former Chelsea player Oscar scored a hat-trick in the final, but the official player of the tournament was Henrique. Unlike Oscar, Henrique’s career has been disappointing and his only prolific spell came in 2015 at Cortiba, where he scored 12 goals in 20 games. Danilo and Casemiro were also in the side, with both now at Real Madrid, while Alex Sandro is at Juventus.
2013 France
France’s side contained Paul Pogba, Samuel Umtiti, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Kurt Zouma, all of which have gone on to play for top European clubs. A stark contrast to that of teammate Paul Charrau, who’s currently on loan at Paris FC in Ligue 2.
2015 Serbia
Brazil made the final of the 2015 competition and their side included Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus, but they lost out to Serbia. Their star players were goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic, who won the Golden Glove award after conceding just three goals all tournament, and Andrija Zivkovic, who scored the winning goal. Zivkovic has gone on to become the youngest player to represent Serbia’s senior team and has just won a treble with Benfica, while Rajkovic is an established member of the Maccabi Tel Aviv team.
