20 Jun 2015

Shock win for Serbia in U20 World Cup final

8:02 pm on 20 June 2015

Serbia have shocked Brazil 2-1 in extra time to win the Under-20 men's football World Cup final in Auckland.

Brazil's Gabriel Jesus has a shot on goal.

Brazil's Gabriel Jesus has a shot on goal. Photo: Photosport

The heavy underdogs, who were competing at the tournament for the first time as an independent nation, stunned the five-time champion Brazilians with the winning goal with just two minutes remaining.

The rain that came down all day finally stopped before kickoff, and as expected, the heavily favoured Brazilians came out strong and dominated possession.

But the Serbs did well with what little ball they had, cheered on by a very vocal section of the crowd, and the underdogs actually had one more shot on target in the first half - a headed shot from a corner saved on the line by Brazil goalkeeper Jean.

Nil-all at the break then and Serbia were daring to dream, and sure enough, in the 69th minute the forward Stanisa Mandic got on the end of a good break to drive home the opening goal.

The lead only lasted three minutes though - a weaving run from substitute midfielder Andreas Pereira finishing with the equaliser for Brazil.

A desperate diving save from Serbia goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic ensured extra time, the rain came back, and Serbia were looking ragged, and holding on for penalties.

Then suddenly they had another break, a through ball put midfielder Nemanja Maksimovic through on goal, and he made no mistake with the match-winner.

Earlier, Mali beat 10-man Senegal 3-1 in the third place playoff.