FIFA U-20 World Cup Final: 5 Talking Points as Ukraine defeat South Korea 3-1

In an eventful final, Ukraine defeated South Korea 3-1 to lift their first ever U-20 World Cup.

The match started poorly for the Europeans after the South Koreans were awarded a VAR assisted penalty in the opening minutes of the match.

Golden Ball winner Lee Kang-In stepped up to the plate, and as cool as a cucumber, slotted in as South Korea took the lead in the 5th minute.

The Ukrainians though equalised in the 34th minute through Vladyshav Supriaha. The 19-year old from Dynamo Kyiv once again was on target as the European increased their lead to two.

South Korea though did not give up as they mounted attack after attack only to see them fizzle out in the final third.

A moment of brilliance from Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin proved to be the big factor as Ukraine held on to their lead.

Ukraine though had to wait till the 89th minute to confirm their victory. In the 88th minute, Heorhiy Tsitaishvili intercepted a loose ball from his side and ran the length of the pitch as he scored a goal befitting of a final to give Ukraine their third and title-clinching goal of the match.

Here are 5 talking points from this encounter.

#5 South Korea fails to break the European deadlock

Three of the last U-20 World Cup had European winners with England, Serbia and France winning the honours in 2017,2015 and 2013 respectively.

The South Koreans started the match with the odds against them as looked to become the first Asian team to win the U-20 World Cup.

The Asian teams, till this World Cup, had never reached the finals of the competition since the inception of the U-20 World Cup.

After a bright start by South Korea, Ukraine wrested control from the Asians to win their first ever U-20 World Cup and continue the European winning streak to four with Brazil being the last team non-European team to win the U-20 World Cup in 2011.

South Korea started the match with hopes of becoming the first Asian team to win the U-20 World Cup, after becoming the first Asian to reach the finals of the U-20 since making the tournament in 2007.

#4 South Korea had a dream start; Defensive errors and failure to take up chances cost them the match

A fast start to match for the Asians saw them have a dream start as Lee Kang-in scored from the spot in the fifth minute of the match after a VAR aided decision overturned referee Ismail Elfath's original decision not to give the penalty.

The South Korean defence was in a way to blame for the first and second goal scored by Vladyslav Spriaha.

The 19-year old from Dynamo Kiev found himself fortunate in both the occasion as South Korean setup both the goals for the striker.

Se-Yun Kim was the culprit for the first goal after the 20-year old poked the ball out of the feet of Oleksiy Khahlov only to find it going to an unmarked Supriaha inside the penalty box.

The second goal was once again unfortunate as an attempt to take the ball of Yukhym Konoplia by Hyun-Woo Kim resulted in the South Korean's attempt ricocheting off the Ukranian player to find its way to Supriaha.

Going behind though prompted waves of South Korean attacks as the Asians failed to find the net despite making some dangerous attacks in the Ukranian penalty area.

#3 Lee Kang-in produces impressive performance; fails to get the Asians past the line

The one star who ran the show for South Korea the entire tournament, Lee Kang-in was once again the pick of the players for the Asians.

Arguably one of the best players in the tournament, Lee Kang-in had been the main architect behind South Korea's success after making 4 assists in the tournament.

The final though proved why the Valencia midfielder is highly rated. Given the chance to score the first-ever goal for an Asian side in a global final, the 18-year old cooly stepped up and slotted into the net to give his side the lead.

The 18-year old, deployed rather deeper than usual, was once again the man who controlled the midfield for the Asians. As Ukraine scored the second goal, Lee Kang-in was thrust further up the pitch with the Koreans looking for the equalizer.

The Valencia man proved too much for the Ukranian defence as danced past them and made telling passes into dangerous areas only to see his teammates scuff the chances.

At the end the 18-year old failed to get his team past the finals, finishing the tournament with 2 goals and 4 assists.

The South Korean performance in the tournament deservedly won him the Golden Ball.

#2 Andriy Lunin shines

A goalkeeper may not be involved much in a match but must be always ready for any potential attacking threats that might happen.

The great goalkeepers have the potential to pull off the unthinkable save at points of the match when his team might be down.

In the 70th minute, there was a moment that was something similar. Andriy Lunin produced a jaw-dropping save to nick the ball onto the goal post after Jae-Ik Lee believed he had scored the equalizer after a brilliant header from a corner.

The save proved to be a key moment in the match as Ukraine held onto to win the World Cup.

The 20-year Andriy Lunin showed why Real Madrid paid the big bucks to sign the shot-stopper from Dnipro last year. Lunin had a quiet day for most of the time but was quickly thrust into the action once Ukraine took the lead.

The Ukranian produced a mature performance for his side. The 20-year old was a figure of calmness and confidence as he helped put off waves of Korean attacks.

#1 Vladyslav Supriaha does the star turn; justifies his selection

Many heads turned when Ukraine U-20 manager Oleksandr Petrakov choose Vladyslav Supriaha ahead of top scorer Danylo Sikan. Supriaha had come into the match having failed to score in any of his previous 6 appearances in the U-20 World Cup.

This proved to be a master stroker as Vladyslav Supriaha proved to be the difference between both the sides.

The 19-year old striker from Dynamo Kyiv was on target in his both attempts as he scored his first and second goal of the World Cup to guide his side to victory.

Supriaha was at the right place at the right moment of time in both the goals that arose due to small defensive problems. If one was clearance that felt at his feet the other was a deflected pass.

Supriaha was a constant threat before he was subbed off for Sikan in the 62nd minute.