ZURICH: The FIFA Technical Study Group has presented its main conclusions from the FIFA U‑20 World Cup Poland 2019**.

It 10 ‘players to watch for the future’ were named as Lee Kangin (S Korea, winner of the Golden Ball), Chris Richards (US), Andriy Lunin (Ukraine, Golden Glove winner ), Alessandro Plizarri (Italy), Serhii Buletsa (Ukraine, Silver Ball winner), Sékou Koïta (Mali), Yukhym Konoplia (Ukraine), Valerii Bondar (Ukraine), Gonzalo Plata (Ecuador, Bronze Ball winner) and Amadou Sagna (Senegal, Bronze Boot winner).

Branimir Ujevic, FIFA’s head of coaching and player development, said: “The [competition] was impressive in terms of both individual and collective quality.

“In fact, the efficiency-driven approach exhibited by the majority of teams was only possible due to the presence of players who were able to trigger quick transitions by playing clinical balls in behind the defence.

“There was a lot of tactical awareness too, which confirms that we are talking about very mature players that can make an impression at the highest level.”

Led by Ujevic, the TSG team for the U-20 World Cup in Poland featured Portugal legend Fernando Couto and Croatian coach Ivo Šušak, supported by FIFA’s Goalkeeping Specialist Pascal Zuberbuhler, Performance & Game Analyst Chris Loxston and TSG Coordinator and former Swiss women’s national team captain Prisca Steinegger.

The report’s technical summary highlights how possession was not a key to success as confirmed by the fact that champions Ukraine had an average of 44pc, a trend also identified at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

** Report now available on FIFA.com

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