Spain won the World Youth Championship on Saturday, taking their first ever FIFA championship win, by beating Japan 4-0 with one of the best performances of the tournament.
The Spanish, who lost 1-0 to Brazil in the 1985 youth final, showed they had no intention of repeating that performance with a first goal coming in the fifth minute through Jose Javier Barquero.
Japanese coach Philippe Troussier had warned that Spain would be difficult to stop if they got away to a good start.
But on Saturday his side were unable to stop the predicted Spanish onslaught as Pablo Gonzalez scored twice, in the 14th and 33rd minutes, to become joint top scorer of the competition.
The first half was dominated entirely by the European side who put in 10 shots on target and had four corners to two shots and no corners for the Japanese.
In the second half it was the same story. Brimming with confidence, Spain came out strongly and in the 52nd minute Gabriel Francisco Garcia de la Torre of Barcelona stroked in Spain's fourth.
In the match for third place, played earlier, the surprise find of the tournament, Mali, beat Uruguay 1-0, scoring with a goal from a free-kick by Seydou Keita in the 30th minute.
