The four semifinalists of the U-20 World Cup in Chile have left a lesson and some surprises during the tournament: Colombia, Argentina, Morocco and France showed their arguments to win and break the dreams of their rivals.
After a European domination among the Round of 16 qualifiers, the balance changed after the quarterfinal stage and only one survivor remains. South America is now the only one with two teams from the region in contention for the title, but they will face each other. There is also an African team. Colombia beat Spain 3-2 and will play Argentina, who beat Mexico 2-0, while Morocco dispatched the United States with a 3-1 win and France defeated Norway 2-1. These are the strengths of the four semifinalist teams:
1. Néiser, the awakening of the scorer
#Sports| Néiser Villarreal is priced and arouses interest from the European market: could Villarreal make the leap to Europe despite the pre-agreement with Cruzeiro? – Colmundo Radio https://t.co/sZdVxVhRo1
– Colmundo Radio (@ColmundoRadio) October 14, 2025
Striker Néiser Villarreal saved his artillery for the round of 16 and quarter-final matches of the U-20 World Cup in which he thrilled the whole of Colombia.
Especially with the hat-trick against Spain, which qualified the tricolor to the semifinals, a stage they had not reached in 22 years.
The 20-year-old striker, who came into the tournament as the top scorer in the South American championship with eight goals, was in the shadows in the group stage.
But he really got going in the Round of 16 when he scored two goals against South Africa.
The striker’s awakening at the U-20 World Cup was explosive.
It put him at the top of the scoring charts with five goals, putting him in contention for the Golden Boot.
However, to score again he must wait until the final, if the Cafeteros beat Argentina in the semifinals.
The striker will not play due to suspension or try to play in the match for third place if they lose to the Albiceleste.
Ney, as he is nicknamed after his idol, Brazil’s Neymar, will be Colombia’s biggest casualty.
And one of the notable absentees in the semifinals of the U-20 World Cup, after displaying goal-scoring prowess and coolness in front of goal.
2. Morocco, ‘lions kill prey’.
The Moroccan national team is a serious candidate for the U-20 World Cup title in Chile.
She was among the contenders taking into account the gradual development of her soccer, which in the senior category already had a fourth place in Qatar 2022.
Morocco eliminated the United States in the quarterfinals, which had become one of the most consistent and high-scoring teams of the tournament, with Benjamin Cremaschi as the tournament’s top scorer alongside Colombia’s Villarreal.
The Africans’ key to the U-20 World Cup semifinal against France will be to maintain their tactical solidity.
As well as the imbalance that they achieve with their stars such as the scorer Yassir Zabiri, with three goals, and Gessime Yassine, who has three assists.
The French school
France, with an irregular performance in the group stage of the U-20 World Cup, in which they sowed doubts, has shown effectiveness to solve the direct elimination duels and thus reach the semifinals to face Morocco.
Against Japan in the round of 16 it cost them more (0-1).
But against Norway they took an early lead and managed the game, reaffirming their reputation as one of the most prolific youth teams in the game.
Their talent development system was on display with players who have demonstrated the technical quality, physical strength and tactical maturity to achieve good results, as well as resilience.
4. Argentina is an unbeatable machine
La Albiceleste is the only U-20 World Cup semifinalist to have won all of its matches since the group stage, five in total.
He also has an enviable goal-scoring ability with 14 goals scored, which certifies his resurgence in this category, which he has not won since 2007.
Although Argentina’s U-20 stars did not play in this World Cup, the South American country has proven its status as an inexhaustible breeding ground for world stars with the emergence of Alejo Sarco, from Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen, who with four goals will fight for the Golden Shoe.
The key has been the process led by coach Diego Placente, who has developed a large part of this squad from the U-17 category, managing to install a clear idea of the game and with a cohesion that has already been worked on.
As the tournament’s most successful team with six trophies, Argentina has the resources to be a protagonist, not only because of its history, but also because of its current situation.
With information from EFE
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