Argentina take title for the third time

JOSE NESTOR PEKERMAN, the Argentinian manager, acknowledged that it had been another trying day for his nerves after watching his team win the world under-20 championship for a third time on Saturday.

"It was a different type of game than the one against Ireland but just as hard," he said. "We made a poor start and then had to defend with a lot of courage in the second half."

It was an honest assessment of a game in which Uruguay who had already beaten Argentina twice at this level in the last year, often looked capable of making it three wins in a row.

With the crowd in the stadium grown to almost 45,000 by the time the second game commenced, they made a great start by scoring after only 14 minutes when the arc of Pablo Perez's free kick took it over the head of goalkeeper Leonardo Franco and down beneath the crossbar.

Earlier, Roman Riquelme and Diego Placente had wasted good chances for the champions but with Perez's goal, the Uruguayans, in unfamiliar red shirts, were suddenly, on a flood tide.

Unfortunately, for them, the opportunities which might have put the game beyond Argentina's reach, were wasted by Nicholas Olivera who, ironically, later won the award for the best goal of the championship.

Olivera was out of luck when his free kick bounced over off the top of the crossbar with Franco in obvious trouble and then, he set up Marcelo Zalayeta for a one on one run on the goalkeeper.

This time Franco was equal to the challenge of keeping the ball out and in that moment, the game turned. Reprieved, Argentina swarmed back to equalise in the 24th minute when the 16-year-old Real Madrid player, Esteban Cnmbiasso somehow found space in a crowed six yard area, to head home Riquelme's corner kick.

That shook the Uruguayans to their heels and with four minutes to go to half time, their defence lapsed again, this time allowing Diego Quintana to volley a cross by Lionel Scnloni into the corner of the net for the winner.