History Of The 1989 FIFA U-16 World Cup: Champion, Saudi Arabia Suspected Of Stealing Age

Saudi Arabia made a surprise by winning the 1989 U-16 World Cup. (FIFA)

JAKARTA - Saudi Arabia's surprise. Not being a leading team, Saudi Arabia managed to steal the show by winning the 1989 FIFA U-16 World Cup. The final match against hosts Scotland with a record-breaking audience, 58 thousand. But the champion is suspected of falsifying his life. The accusations are only an issue.

The third edition of the U-16 World Cup which brought many big surprises. One of them was Bahrain's success in getting rid of Brazil on penalties in the quarter-finals.

The peak of Saudi Arabia is beyond the suspicion of becoming champions. They were unbeaten throughout the tournament and only drew twice against Portugal and Guinea in the preliminary round.

Saudi Arabia then wiped out Nigeria and Bahrain in the knockout round until they finally reached the final. The team who were not seeded at all until the top match met the hosts Scotland.

The final match is called the 'finalist surprise' because both teams are not seeded. Only in this final match, Scotland became the favorite. How can Scotland get full support from the crowd that flooded the Hampden Park Stadium.

Previously, Scotland's matches were only seen by 6,500 people in the group stage, now the audience who has come has reached 58,000 people. This is what makes Paul Dickov et al appear confidently.

Even the signs of Scotland holding the trophy are clear. The forward Ian Downie immediately put Scotland ahead when the game had only been running for seven minutes. Not long after or in the 25th minute, Dickov put the hosts 2-0 up.

However, Saudi Arabia refused to give up in the match which lasted for 80 minutes. It was Sulaiman Al Reshoudi to reduce the lag in the 49th minute. Next, in the 65th minute, Waleed Al Terair's goal equalized the score and silenced the audience's cheers.

In a tense situation, Scotland got another chance to take the lead after being awarded a penalty following the bringing down of Gary Bollan in the box. This could be the decisive victory.

Unfortunately, Brian O'Neil who became the executor failed to complete the task. His shot brilliantly saved goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Deayea. The match was finished on penalties.

Saudi Arabia showed calm and mental maturity during high five. After the score was 4-4 because each team failed, Saudi Arabia emerged as champions because O'Neil again failed to execute a penalty.

The final score of 5-4 for Saudi Arabia made them the first Asian team to win the U-17 World Cup.

Although Saudi Arabia is a team with big surprises, they have actually been well prepared for the tournament.

Brazilian coach Ivo Ardais Wortmann worked hard to build a Saudi Arabian team that has a very neat game organization with excellent discipline. More than that, their game plan is also very good and very decisive in the match. This is a factor Saudi Arabia achieved success.

However, the success of Saudi Arabia was in the spotlight. Because some of them are suspected of stealing their age and falsifying passports. They are considered to look older with an average age of under 16 years.

"There are rumors that some players have participated in the championship before the U-17 World Cup. They also look like they are in their 20s," said Scottish manager at the time, Craig Brown.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Football Federation (SFA) accused his party of feeling cheated by facing a team with an older player. SFA said the Saudi Arabian goalkeeper was the same as Peterferton, the England national team goalkeeper at the time.

Some even say that there are players in the Saudi Arabian team who are married and have three children. He is also a royal guard with the rank of major.

However, there was a Scottish player who defended the rival team. O'Neil, who failed to kick the penalty twice, said it was possible that there were groups of people who looked older than their age.

"There is a culture with people who are physically older than their age," said O'Neil, who later played at various clubs in Scotland, England and Germany. He closed his career at Preston North End, the English Championship Division club.

The rumors ended up on the issue. There is no official investigation into the alleged age theft carried out by the Saudi Arabian team. The title remains the property of Saudi Arabia.