2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup final

2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup final
Cairo International Stadium in 2019
Event2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup
Ghana Brazil
Ghana Brazil
0 0
After extra time
Ghana won 4–3 on penalties
Date16 October 2009
VenueCairo International Stadium, Cairo
RefereeFrank De Bleeckere (Belgium)
Attendance67,000

The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup final was the final match and culmination of the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, hosted by Egypt. The game was played at the Cairo International Stadium in Cairo on 16 October 2009 and was contested between Ghana and Brazil. The match was won by Ghana 4–3 in the penalty shoot-out after the game ended in a goalless draw.

Ghana became the first African country to win a FIFA U-20 World Cup title.

Background

Ghana results
Round Opponent Result
GS  Uzbekistan 2–1
GS  England 4–0
GS  Uruguay 2–2
R16  South Africa 2–1 (a.e.t.)
QF  South Korea 3–2
SF  Hungary 3–2
Brazil results
Round Opponent Result
GS  Costa Rica 5–0
GS  Czech Republic 0–0
GS  Australia 3–1
R16  Uruguay 3–1
QF  Germany 2–1 (a.e.t.)
SF  Costa Rica 1–0

Ghana had already played a final in the 2001 edition of the tournament, held in Argentina. In that final, Ghana lost 0–3 to local Argentina, which, despite being the title holders, had not qualified for the World Cup in Egypt.[1][2][3] Brazil, on the other side, was seeking its fifth tournament in the category, having previously won the final of the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the UAE.[4][5]

In its group stage matches, Ghana had defeated Uzbekistan and England, drawing 2–2 in the final group game with Uruguay.[6] In the round of 16, the Ghanaian team went to extra time to get past South Africa 2–1 in Ismailia, struggling in a hard-fought match against South Korea in the quarterfinals which ended 3–2 for the Africans.[6] Ghana won the semi-final game with that same score, 3–2, against Hungary.[6]

Brazil, in Group E, had crushed Costa Rica 5–0 and defeated Australia 3–1, getting a goalless draw in its match against Czechia.[7] The knockout stage for Brazil was a 3–1 victory against Uruguay in the round of 16, a 2–1 victory over Germany after extra time in the quarter-final game, and defeating Costa Rica 1–0 in the semi-finals.[8][9][10]

Match and legacy

The final was played at Cairo International Stadium on 16 October 2009, with an attendance of over 67,000 spectators.[11][12] The officials for the match consisted of a Belgian trio led by referee Frank De Bleeckere, assisted by compatriots Peter Hermans and Walter Vromans.[11] Alberto Undiano Mallenco of Spain served as the fourth official, while Fermín Martínez, also of Spain, served as the fifth official.[13]

De Bleeckere showed three yellow cards to the Brazilians and a red card to Ghanaian defender Daniel Addo in the 37th minute of the match.[14] The game ended in a goalless draw after the full time of 90 minutes, ending in the same score after extra time.[15] In the penalty shoot-out, Jonathan Mensah and Bright Addae failed the third and fourth penalty kicks for Ghana, while the Brazilians failed the third, fourth, and fifth kicks, with goalkeeper Daniel Adjei containing the penalty kick of Alex Teixeira.[15] Midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu scored the winning penalty goal for Ghana.[12][16]

The Ghanaian team of 2009 is considered a golden generation by Ghanaian media.[17] After winning the World Cup in Egypt, President John Atta Mills congratulated the players and welcomed them at Osu Castle along with Vice-president John Mahama.[18][17] Mills additionally promised the team a cheque of GHS 10,000, which would be put in the form of investment for an unspecified time period.[6] The cheques were released in January 2024, with the government writing to the Ghana Football Association to invite the players to cash them from 8 January 2025.[6][19]

In September 2022, Agyemang-Bady told Adom Online that he was told not to take off his jersey when celebrating the winning penalty kick, which he nonetheless did, because his physique looked like someone older than 20 years old,[16] adding that one of his teammates warned him that FIFA would refuse to hand over the trophy to them.[16]

The World Cup title in 2009 propelled the Ghanaian team forward, qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.[20] However, after being eliminated by Uruguay in a controversial quarter-final match, the national teams began to plunge in their performances at CAF tournaments.[20][21][22][23][24] In October 2019, ten years after the victory in Egypt, player André Ayew spoke with BBC Sport, saying that Ghana had "lost organisation" after 2014.[20] He highlighted that the team had made progress until that year, subsequently failing to achieve great success.[20] Ayew also pointed to the 2010 FIFA World Cup loss to Uruguay and that year's final against Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations, which Ghana lost.[20] Ayew's teammates Agyemang-Bady and David Addy concurred with his views, with Addy stating that when they won the 2009 U-20 World Cup, they did not understand how big of an achievement that was.[20] Dominic Adiyiah won the tournament's Golden Boot and Golden Ball.[17]

Ghana remained the only African country to win the youth title until Morocco won the final against Argentina in the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup edition.[20][25][26]

Summary

Man of the Match:

Assistant referees:

Peter Hermans (Belgium)

Walter Vromans (Belgium)

Fourth official:

Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Fifth official:

Fermín Martínez (Spain)

References

  1. ↑ "En 2001 Argentina organizó el Mundial Sub 20 con un equipo que quedó en la historia". www.espn.com.mx (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "Africa has proud history at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup". Africa has proud history at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Archived from the original on 11 December 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "El Sub-20 se quedó afuera del Mundial de Egipto". infobae (in Spanish). 29 October 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  4. ↑ Pierce, Cameron (4 December 2025). "Brazil's Triumph: Under-20 World Cup Champions 2003". Biharsports News. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "In profile: Every FIFA U-20 World Cup-winning team". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Mumuni, Lukman (10 January 2025). "Ghana U20 World Cup Winning Players Invited to Receive Matured Investment from 2009 Triumph – YEN.COM.GH". yen.com.gh. Archived from the original on 14 March 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Sub 20: Brasil y Rep. Checa empatan, pero clasifican". Última Hora (in Spanish). 30 September 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "Estadísticas de Rendimiento de Brasil Sub 20 – 2009–10". www.espn.com.ar. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  9. ↑ Mediotiempo, Editorial (10 July 2026). "Brasil eliminó a Uruguay y pasó a Cuartos de Final". Mediotiempo (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Brazil U20 2 – 1 Germany U20". www.espn.com.do. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Ghana U20 vs Brazil U20". www.espn.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Ghana U-20 0–0 Brazil U-20 (4–3 On Pens): Black Satellites Make History As First African Winners Of FIFA Under-20 World Cup | Goal.com Ghana". www.goal.com. 17 October 2009. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  13. ↑ FUTBOL, CUADERNOS DEL. "España en los mundiales sub'20: Egipto 2009". CUADERNOS DEL FUTBOL (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Association, Ghana Football. "Addo rues red but says he had to tackle". www.ghanafa.org. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  15. 1 2 "Ghana por penales dejó sin "penta" a Brasil". LARED21 (in Spanish). 17 October 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 "2009 U-20 WC: Agyemang-Badu recounts shocking moments after scoring winner against Brazil - Adomonline.com". 1 September 2022. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  17. 1 2 3 "Golden Moment: Black Satellites celebrate World Cup win with late President Mills". GhanaWeb. 3 March 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  18. ↑ "President set to receive Ghana's world champions". Modern Ghana. Archived from the original on 12 July 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  19. ↑ "2009 Black Satellites World Cup winning squad invited to collect matured investment cheques – MyJoyOnline". 10 January 2025. Archived from the original on 17 January 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Andre Ayew: Ghana have 'lost organisation' since winning 2009 U-20 World Cup". BBC Sport. 18 October 2019. Archived from the original on 24 June 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  21. ↑ "Ghana's heartbreaking 2010 World Cup a decade on". The Independent. 12 June 2020. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  22. ↑ Olé, Diario Deportivo (2 December 2022). "Ghana no quería que se clasifique Uruguay: "Si nosotros no pasamos, ellos tampoco"". Olé (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  23. ↑ Sudáfrica, Vladimir Hernández. "BBC Mundo - Deportes - Mundial Sudáfrica 2010: La polémica sobre la nueva "mano de Dios"". www.bbc.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  24. ↑ "La "mano de Dios" de Suárez rompe el sueño de Ghana". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "Morocco's under-20 World Cup triumph gains royal seal of approval". RFI. 20 October 2025. Archived from the original on 20 March 2026. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  26. ↑ "U20 World Cup final: Morocco look to build after victory over Argentina". BBC Sport. 20 October 2025. Archived from the original on 22 October 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.