By Boluwatife Kehinde
Morocco has achieved a historic victory in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, defeating Argentina 2-0. With this win, Morocco becomes only the second African nation, following Ghana in 2009, to lift the trophy.
The match, held at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, saw Yassir Zabiri give Morocco the lead in the 12th minute. Shortly after, the 20-year-old Famalicão winger doubled Morocco’s advantage a few minutes later in the first half.
For Argentina, the defeat was disappointing as they were in pursuit of their seventh U-20 World Cup title and had looked unbeatable throughout the tournament.
Their only loss came during the group stage against Mexico. Still, they successfully defeated Spain, Brazil, South Korea, and the United States before edging past France on penalties in the semi-finals.
This victory is a proud moment not only for the country but for African football as a whole. It signifies the country’s rise on the global stage, just three years after the Moroccan senior men’s team made history by reaching the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar.
In addition, Othmane Maamma and the USA’s Benjamin Cremaschi received the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards, respectively, at the FIFA U-20 World Cup tournament held in Chile.
Full List of Award Winners at the FIFA U-20 World Cup:
Golden Ball: Othmane Maamma (Morocco)
Silver Ball: Yassir Zabiri (Morocco)
Bronze Ball: Milton Delgado (Argentina)
Golden Boot: Benjamin Cremaschi (USA)
Silver Boot: Neyser Villareal (Colombia)
Bronze Boot: Lucas Michal (France)
Golden Glove: Santino Barbi (Argentina)
Fair Play Award: USA
Additionally, Colombia secured third place by defeating France 1-0 earlier in the tournament.
