Ukraine Emerge as Winners of the FIFA U20 World Cup
June 17, 2019
The Ukrainian U20 football team defeated South Korean U20 team in the U20 World Cup final to emerge as winners.
Oleksandr Petrakov’s boys overcame their early setback to win in the youth tournament in Lodz.
The final match of the 2019 FIFA Under 20 World Cup was hosted in the Polish city of Łódź. It was between two teams who came into the tournament as underdogs, Ukraine and South Korea.
The match began frantically with Korea striking quickly through Lee Kangin, who slotted his penalty in the fifth minute. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was used to determine that Korean U20 captain, Hwang Taehyeon was fouled inside the right edge of the box.
The Ukrainians pressed the Koreans for an equalizer as the first half progressed. However, it was Vladyslav Supriaha’s 34th-minute equaliser that provided the breakthrough. Korea’s defense could not fully clear Serhii Buletsa’s free-kick delivery into the penalty area, and the loose ball fell to the path of Supriaha who slotted it home from eight yards.
Supriaha scored his second goal in the 53rd minute. Yukhym Konoplia’s through ball was deflected
Korea almost scored an equalizer in the second half, but Ukraine and Real Madrid goalkeeper, Andriy Lunin saved them when he pushed Lee Jae-ik’s header on to the crossbar.
The last goal came late in the game after a splendid solo run from Heorhii Tsitaishvili in the 89th minute dashed Korea’s hopes of an equalizer. The Ukranian midfielder went forward from his own half and shot into the corner of the net.
The Ukrainian team won the game with 3-1 score and became the FIFA U20 champion for the first time.
Ukraine’s goalkeeper was awarded the Golden Glove, Norwegian striker; Erling Haland won the Golden Boot, with nine goals in the tournament. While South Korean midfielder, Lee Kang-in was awarded the Golden Ball.
It was a historic final match, as South Korea became the first ever Asian team to score in an U20 World Cup final, while Ukraine won their first ever U20 title.
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This article is brought to us by our Sports Writers Club resident columnist – Collins Michael Nwokolo. Follow him on Twitter and Pinterest.
