FIFA U-20 World Cup 2019: Ten stars who impressed

From Real Madrid keeper Andriy Lunin to Shakhtar Donetsk's Yukhym Konoplya and Valeriy Bondar, here are the ten players who impressed at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.

Published : Sep 03, 2019 20:30 IST

USA centre-back Chris Richards's ability to deliver key line-breaking passes or to drive the ball forwards into spaces, allowing the midfielders to take more attacking positions higher up the pitch, caught the viewers eyes in Poland. He was also clever to use a more direct route to the final third with the long ball when a “target man” was present.

Champion Ukraine’s compact defensive block was powered by goalkeeper Andriy Lunin and that made it a very difficult target for its opposition. It conceded only four goals in seven matches, which earned Lunin the tournament’s best goalkeeper award.

Photo: Getty Images

Gianluigi Donnarumma's seamless integration with the senior team has taken the spotlight away from fellow Milan youth product Alessandro Plizzari. In Poland, the Italian keeper showed good reflexes to jump high to pull off wonderful stretching saves and go down to parry whipped shots as well.

Serhii Buletsa played an important role in the heart of Ukrain's midfield in its title triumph. He played in all seven games, scoring three goals. His efforts saw him rewarded with the Silver Ball trophy.

Golden Ball winner Lee Kangin (10) stood out with his delivery and clinical passes. The Korea Republic midfielder possesses the capacity to find pockets of space, pick passes in the final third and deliver the clinical touch when needed.

Sekou Koita (20) could be the next big star for Mali. After helping his nation to the U-17 World Cup final and the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations triumph, he striker scored three goals and set up one to take Mali to the quarterfinal of the U-20 World Cup in Poland.

Ukraine's title win was aided by goals from across the pitch, with center-back Yukhym Konoplia (17) also contributed to its triumph scoring twice from four shots while also marshaling the backline with maturity.

Valerri Bondar led from the front as he helped Ukraine to the U-20 World Cup win. An able center-back, his knowledge of playing in the midfield during his formative years helped him build play from the back and distribute possession - short or long - with ease.

Gonzalo Plata (20) scored three goals in Poland and picked up the Bronze Ball. The Ecuadorian wingers performances in Poland along with his performances for Independiente has seen him linked with several big clubs across Europe — most notably FC Barcelona.

Amadou Sagna was one of the starts of the the young Teranga Lions team that reached the quarterfinal of the U-20 World Cup, where it lost to South Korea in a penalty shoot-out. The Senegal winger's four goals won him the Bronze Boot award which was followed by a move to Europe — to Club Burgge in Belgium.

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USA centre-back Chris Richards's ability to deliver key line-breaking passes or to drive the ball forwards into spaces, allowing the midfielders to take more attacking positions higher up the pitch, caught the viewers eyes in Poland. He was also clever to use a more direct route to the final third with the long ball when a “target man” was present.
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