Teams on the whole were physically well prepared and well organised:

• Hungary won two consecutive matches after extra time, whereas Ghana played virtually the whole of the fi nal with ten man following Daniel Addo’s (5) sending off in the 30th minute.

- Although the size of players seems to be a factor for certain teams, this does not fully reflect a player’s value as an athlete, which is also related to suitable technical qualities such as defensive technique or being able to retain possession when under pressure.

- Indeed, undisciplined physicality can lead to fouls that in turn result in a significant number of free kicks and cards

– as was the case at this competition, even though the competition as a whole was played in the right spirit.

- The teams that stood out from the rest were those who were able to combine athleticism with technique:

- Mobility, changes of pace using appropriate technique as displayed by Vladimir Koman (7, Hungary), Marcos Urena (7, Costa Rica) or Giuliano (10, Brazil).

- Ghana, Brazil and Italy had powerful, quick and effective forwards: Dominic Adiyiah (20, Ghana), Alan Kardec

(9, Brazil) and Mattia Mustacchio (17, Italy).

These physical factors should be taken into account when scouting for talent and throughout the training of players.

• Some teams stood out on account of their good organization: 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 (Hungary), 4-2-3-1 (Costa Rica), 4-1-3-2 (Ghana) or a flexible 4-4-2 adapting to the players’ constant changes in position (Brazil).

- One or two midfielders protecting the central defenders.

- A fairly deep-lying defense and no organized pressing except on specific occasions (Ghana). Germany were the exception due to the quality of their pressing and counter-attacks.

- This deep position with spaces between the lines did not prevent breaks into the penalty area (60% of goals), shots from distance (slightly on the increase) and a greater number of goals than in 2007. These trends are of interest.

- Brazil showed the importance of a good defensive base (only three goals conceded), but Ghana demonstrated that this alone was not enough by being prolific throughout the whole competition (eight goals in each stage), whereas Brazil scored fewer goals in the knockout stage.

- Dead-ball situations still play an important role (25% of goals) and the increase in the number of goals scored by substitutes shows the importance of strength in depth and good coaching.

Against teams that are physically well prepared and well organised, the decisive factor (as always at the highest level) was the difference in technical quality and tactical maturity.

• Technical quality:

- Ball retention despite pressure and limited space, particularly by Marcos Urena (7, Costa Rica), Vladimir Koman (7, Hungary) and Alex Teixeira (7, Brazil).

- The ability to get past the defender with the player’s first touch, either by directing the ball into space or passing it to a team-mate.

- Well-measured positive passes which made it difficult for the defender to intervene without committing a foul (Vladimir Koman, 7 to Krisztian Nemeth, 9 against Italy).

- The best teams were those who had players capable of dribbling, passing and scoring: Vladimir Koman, 7 (Hungary), Alex Teixeira (7, Brazil), Andre Ayew, 10 and Dominic Adiyiah, 20 (Ghana).

• Tactical refinement when on the attack or counter-attack and the desire to take the initiative:

- This is what Ghana did throughout the competition (16 goals scored), with play, runs and passing directed straight at the opponents’ goal.

- Brazil lulled their opponents using a repetitive passing game with numerous permutations followed by individual or collective acceleration. This was not the case in the final, however.

- Costa Rica, starting from a deep-lying position, carried out their counter-attacks on the wings to create an overlap (Diego Madrigal, 11 or Bryan Oviedo, 14) or find the necessary spaces and gaps in the centre (Diego Estrada, 10).

- Hungary alternated between forays down the wings (Bence Zambo, 15), measured upfield passes (Vladimir Koman, 7) and combinations between the two forwards (Krisztian Nemeth, 9 and Andras Simon, 8).

• Korea Republic and the United Arab Emirates still lack this tactical sophistication. Although they have made great progress and had good tournaments, they struggled to gain the upper hand in the knock-out matches.

- While it is essential to be well organised in defence, it is also vital to play vertically and vary the forms of attack in order to be competitive.

- Suitable technical work, which is sometimes demanding, a progression of exercises, the repetition of passages of play and attacking dynamics are the elements that should be worked upon throughout the training and post-training period.

The mental strength and tactical intelligence of the Ghana players in the final after being quickly reduced to ten men is worthy of mention. These two aspects are very important when a series of high-level matches are played, often over a very short period of time.

The will to win or progress must be detected and maintained among the players at the training sessions.

Trends

U-17 competitions enable the progress of young players to be measured at an early stage in their training, whereas U-20 competitions provide an assessment to be made at a crucial period in their career, namely that of their integration into their club’s fi rst team.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup is an excellent opportunity for players to confirm or reaffirm qualities that have already been observed and help them to reach a new level. This is the part that national youth teams play in the process of preparing the elite players of tomorrow.

What were the main observations made at Egypt 2009? Which factors should be taken into account for the important work to be carried out after a player has completed his training?

General remarks

There were no new trends pointing to the futured development of football, but there was confirmation of the following:

• The problems posed by this age group: whether or not the best players are available to play and differences in status;

• The difficulty that certain teams have in mastering the fundamentals at the highest level over several matches rather than just a single game;

• The need for coaches for develop in terms of team preparation and management of the group and the personalities in it;

• The continuous progress made by Korea Republic, Costa Rica and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Hungary’s return to international competition;

Remarks by FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG)

MANAGEMENT OF U-20 TEAMS

Whereas Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica had twelve and seven players respectively who had graduated from the U-17 teams at Korea 2007, Brazil and Ghana had only four and six players respectively.

Around 60% of the players in national teams are overhauled between the ages of 17 and 20, which shows the importance of talent-spotting in each age group.

Regular work of this kind and continuous training explain how teams such as Germany and Italy were able to perform well despite the absence of a number of key players.

The Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana squads mainly consisted of players being trained abroad. Brazil and Costa Rica, by contrast, had local players.

These factors, which are linked to a change in mentality, should be taken into account by coaches when preparing and managing U-20 teams, as what used to be an issue for “A” teams has now spread to U-20 sides as well.

Because of these factors and the lack of technical trends, the 2009 tournament has illustrated the problems of post training for players, most of whom were debuting at the highest level.

Nevertheless, these players must continue to work on the fundamentals of competition and also be competing for a place at their club or national team.

This is the balance that must be found to enable the players to progress and is the aim of the training for the clubs to whom the players belong.