Ten-man Ghana triumphed with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Brazil to become the first African team to claim the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Daniel Addo Sent Off
Ghana, who had Daniel Addo sent off eight minutes before the end of the first half, produced great defensive display to deny the South Americans. Caught up the field as Brazil sprinted clear, Addo made a desperate tackle on the halfway line.
It was clearly a foul, but Addo was not the last defender and the challenge did not deserve a straight red card.
Penalty Shoot Out Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu Scores
Both sides had missed two penalties out of the first five to add to the tension in the stadium by sending the game to sudden death.
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu scored the winner as Ghana became the first African team to win the tournament and the ten-man Black Satellites became the first African team to claim the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Ghana lifted the trophy before the 67,000 fans at Cairo Stadium.
Player of the FIFA U-20 World Cup
Ghana’s striker, Dominic Adiyiah, was named the best player of the competition as he scored nine goals.
According to Xinhua, before the match, Ghana’s coach Sellas Tetteh said, “We’re not surprised by our performance because we really played well in the qualifying competition. It doesn’t matter who we meet next. We are 90 minutes away from the trophy.” After the match, Tetteh said that the Black Satellites deserved to win the championship because his team made great efforts.
Earlier on Friday, Hungary beat Costa Rica 3-1 to take bronze.
Photo: Ghana’s Dominic Adiyiah receives the Golden Shoe award after Ghana overcoming Brazil at the 17th FIFA U-20 World Cup final match in Cairo, capital of Egypt, Oct. 16, 2009. Ghana won the championship 4-3 on penalties, becoming the first African team to win the tournament. (Xinhua/Zhang Ning)
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