Uruguay beat Italy, wins U20 World Cup

La Plata, The Gulf Observer: Luciano Rodriguez scored four minutes from time as Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 to win the Under-20 World Cup, according to The Athletic.

Rodriguez, who plays for Liverpool Montevideo in his homeland, headed in from close range to reward Uruguay’s dominance and end a streak of four consecutive wins from European teams at the tournament.

More than 40,000 people including FIFA president Gianni Infantino attended the match at the Diego Maradona Stadium in La Plata, Argentina, while Uruguay’s Football Association suspended Sunday’s national championship fixtures so fans could watch the final.

Uruguay, who lost the final in 1997 and 2013, had chances to go ahead much earlier as Rodriguez went close with a free-kick, captain Fabricio Diaz took aim from range and Anderson Duarte forced Italy goalkeeper Sebastiano Desplanches to make one of the saves of the tournament.

Earlier, debutant Israel beat South Korea 3-1 to secure third place in the same stadium in La Plata.