2003 WORLD YOUTH CUP

Preview

The World Youth Cup in 2003 was the fourteenth edition of the tournament and was held in the UAE . There are six groups of four teams in the Under-20 tournament and it features many of the stars who may go on to become international stars in the future.

History

Argentina had moved ahead of Brazil to have four titles, to Brazil's three, with a victory in the 2001 edition of the tournament. The previous winners are:

Tournament

For the two perpetual favourites Argentina and Brazil, Argentina won their group with three wins in three matches, but Brazil could not match them. Brazil only managed a draw against the Czech Republic and were defeated by Australia. Burkina Faso, Australia, Japan, Ireland and the United States were the other group winners. In the second round Australia were surprisingly knocked out by home side UAE, with Canada also surprisingly progressing after a victory over Burkina Faso. The four semi-finalists were identical to those in the 2003 World U/17 Championships, with Brazil and Spain again winning through to the final. Unlike the U/17 Championships Colombia defeated Argentina for third place, but the scoreline in the final was identical with Brazil again winning 1-0. 

Group Stage

Group A

27/11 UAE                  1-4 Slovakia

27/11 Panama              0-1 Burkina Faso

01/12 Burkina Faso     1-0 Slovakia

01/12 Panama             1-2 UAE

04/12 UAE                  0-0 Burkina Faso

04/12 Slovakia            1-0 Panama

Group B

28/11 Argentina           2-1 Spain

28/11 Uzbekistan         2-3 Mali

01/12 Mali                   0-2 Spain

01/12 Uzbekistan         1-2 Argentina

04/12 Argentina           3-1 Mali

04/12 Spain                 1-0 Uzbekistan

Group C

28/11 Brazil                 2-0 Canada

28/11 Czech Republic  1-1 Australia

01/12 Australia             2-1 Canada

01/12 Czech Republic  1-1 Brazil

04/12 Brazil                 2-3 Australia

04/12 Canada              1-0 Czech Republic

Group D

29/11 Colombia           0-0 Egypt

29/11 Japan                 1-0 England

02/12 England              0-1 Egypt

02/12 Japan                 1-4 Colombia

05/12 Colombia           0-0 England

05/12 Egypt                 0-1 Japan

Group E

29/11 Saudi Arabia      1-2 Ireland

29/11 Mexico              1-2 Ivory Coast

02/12 Ivory Coast        2-2 Ireland

02/12 Mexico              1-1 Saudi Arabia

05/12 Saudi Arabia      0-0 Ivory Coast

05/12 Ireland               2-0 Mexico

Group F

29/11 Paraguay            1-3 USA

29/11 Korea                2-0 Germany

02/12 Germany            3-1 USA

02/12 Korea                0-1 Paraguay

05/12 Paraguay            2-0 Germany

05/12 USA                  2-0 Korea 

Second Round

08/12 Japan                 2-1 Korea

08/12 Burkina Faso     0-1 Canada

08/12 Argentina           2-1 Egypt

08/12 USA                  2-0 Ivory Coast

09/12 Brazil                 2-1 Slovakia

09/12 Australia            0-1 UAE

09/12 Paraguay            0-1 Spain

09/12 Ireland               2-3 Colombia

Quarter Finals                           

12/12 Canada              1-2 Spain

12/12 USA                  1-2 Argentina

12/12 Colombia           1-0 UAE

12/12 Japan                 1-5 Brazil

Semi Finals

15/12 Brazil                 1-0 Argentina

15/12 Spain                 1-0 Colombia 

Third Place Play-Off

19/12 Colombia           2-1 Argentina           

Final

19/12 Spain                 0-1 Brazil

Overall

There were some good individual performances in the 2003 World Youth Cup, but the best was by Ismail Matar who carried the home town UAE side to their first ever quarter-final appearance. Dudu and Daniel were the best from a good Brazilian side that won the title for a record-equaling fourth time. American Ed Johnson won the Golden Shoe, as he had one assist more than Daisuke Sakata of Japan and Dudu of Brazil. Sakata ranked ahead of Dudu as he had spent less time on the field. 

Awards

Golden Ball-                Ismail Matar (UAE)

Silver Ball-                  Dudu (Brazil)

Bronze Ball-                Daniel (Brazil)

FIFA Fair Play Prize-  Colombia

Top Goalscorer

Golden Shoe

4 - Ed Johnson                - USA

Silver Shoe

4 - Daisuke Sakata          - Japan

Bronze Shoe

4 - Dudu                         - Brazil

4 - Fernando Cavenaghi  - Argentina

3 - Daniel Carvalho         - Brazil

3 - Stephen Elliott            - Ireland

3 - Leandro Fernandez    - Argentina

3 - Iain Hume                  - Canada

3 - Andres Iniesta            - Spain

3 - Arouna Kone             - Ivory Coast

3 - Nilmar                       - Brazil

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