From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
FIFA U-20 World Cup
The trophy awarded since 2013
Organising body FIFA
Founded1977; 47 years ago (1977)
RegionWorldwide
Number of teams24 (finals)
Related competitions FIFA World Cup
Current champions  Uruguay (1st title)
Most successful team(s)  Argentina (6 titles)
Website FIFA U-20 World Cup
2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup

The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when it was hosted by Tunisia [1] under the tournament name of FIFA World Youth Championship until 2005. [2] In 2007 the name was changed to its present form. FIFA bills the men's Under-20 World Cup as "the tournament of tomorrow's superstars." [3] Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba are previous winners of the official player of the tournament award, and Erling Haaland was the top scorer at the 2019 edition. The current title holder is Uruguay, which won its first title at the 2023 tournament in Argentina.

History

In the twenty-three editions of the tournament held, twelve nations have won the title. Argentina U20 is the most successful team with six titles, followed by Brazil U20 with five titles. Portugal U20 and Serbia U20 have both won two titles (with the latter winning once as Yugoslavia U20), while Ghana U20, Germany U20, Spain U20, France U20, England U20, Ukraine U20, Russia U20 (as the USSR U20) and Uruguay U20 have won the title once each.[ citation needed]

A corresponding event for women's teams, the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, began in 2002 with the name "FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship" and an age limit of 19. The age limit for the women's competition was changed to 20 beginning with the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship, and the competition was renamed as a "World Cup" in 2007 in preparation for the 2008 event. The next edition is planned to be held in 2025 in Chile.

Qualification

24 national teams appear in the final tournament. 23 countries, including the defending champion, have to qualify in the youth championships of the six confederations. The host country automatically qualifies.

Confederation Championship
AFC (Asia) AFC U-20 Asian Cup
CAF (Africa) U-20 Africa Cup of Nations
CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) CONCACAF Under-20 Championship
CONMEBOL (South America) South American Youth Football Championship
UEFA (Europe) UEFA European U-19 Championship
OFC (Oceania) OFC Under 20 Qualifying Tournament

Results

  • 1977–2005: "FIFA World Youth Championship"
  • 2007–present: "FIFA U-20 World Cup"
  • a.e.t.: after extra time
  • p: match won on penalties
Ed. Year Host Final Third place match
teams
1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions Score 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third place Score Fourth place
1 1977   Tunisia
Soviet Union
2–2 ( a.e.t.)
(9–8 p)

Mexico

Brazil
4–0
Uruguay
16
2 1979   Japan
Argentina
3–1
Soviet Union

Uruguay
1–1 ( a.e.t.)
(5–3 p)

Poland
16
3 1981   Australia
West Germany
4–0
Qatar

Romania
1–0
England
16
4 1983   Mexico
Brazil
1–0
Argentina

Poland
2–1 ( a.e.t.)
South Korea
16
5 1985   Soviet Union
Brazil
1–0 ( a.e.t.)
Spain

Nigeria
0–0 ( a.e.t.)
(3–1 p)

Soviet Union
16
6 1987   Chile
Yugoslavia
1–1 ( a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)

West Germany

East Germany
1–1 ( a.e.t.)
(3–1 p)

Chile
16
7 1989   Saudi Arabia
Portugal
2–0
Nigeria

Brazil
2–0
United States
16
8 1991   Portugal
Portugal
0–0 ( a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)

Brazil

Soviet Union
1–1 ( a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)

Australia
16
9 1993   Australia
Brazil
2–1
Ghana

England
2–1
Australia
16
10 1995   Qatar
Argentina
2–0
Brazil

Portugal
3–2
Spain
16
11 1997   Malaysia
Argentina
2–1
Uruguay

Republic of Ireland
2–1
Ghana
24
12 1999   Nigeria
Spain
4–0
Japan

Mali
1–0
Uruguay
24
13 2001   Argentina
Argentina
3–0
Ghana

Egypt
1–0
Paraguay
24
14 2003   United Arab Emirates
Brazil
1–0
Spain

Colombia
2–1
Argentina
24
15 2005   Netherlands
Argentina
2–1
Nigeria

Brazil
2–1
Morocco
24
16 2007   Canada
Argentina
2–1
Czech Republic

Chile
1–0
Austria
24
17 2009   Egypt
Ghana
0–0 ( a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)

Brazil

Hungary
1–1 ( a.e.t.)
(2–0 p)

Costa Rica
24
18 2011   Colombia
Brazil
3–2 ( a.e.t.)
Portugal

Mexico
3–1
France
24
19 2013   Turkey
France
0–0 ( a.e.t.)
(4–1 p)

Uruguay

Ghana
3–0
Iraq
24
20 2015   New Zealand
Serbia
2–1 ( a.e.t.)
Brazil

Mali
3–1
Senegal
24
21 2017   South Korea
England
1–0
Venezuela

Italy
0–0 ( a.e.t.)
(4–1 p)

Uruguay
24
22 2019   Poland
Ukraine
3–1
South Korea

Ecuador
1–0 ( a.e.t.)
Italy
24
23 2023   Argentina
Uruguay
1–0
Italy

Israel
3–1
South Korea
24
24 2025   Chile 24

Teams reaching the top four

Team Titles Runners-up Third place Fourth place
  Argentina 6 (1979, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007) 1 (1983) 1 (2003)
  Brazil 5 (1983, 1985, 1993, 2003, 2011) 4 (1991, 1995, 2009, 2015) 3 (1977, 1989, 2005)
  Portugal 2 (1989, 1991) 1 (2011) 1 (1995)
  Serbia 1 2 (1987, 2015)
  Uruguay 1 (2023) 2 (1997, 2013) 1 (1979) 3 (1977, 1999, 2017)
  Ghana 1 (2009) 2 (1993, 2001) 1 (2013) 1 (1997)
  Spain 1 (1999) 2 (1985, 2003) 1 (1995)
  Russia 2 1 (1977) 1 (1979) 1 (1991) 1 (1985)
  Germany 3 1 (1981) 1 (1987)
  England 1 (2017) 1 (1993) 1 (1981)
  France 1 (2013) 1 (2011)
  Ukraine 1 (2019)
  Nigeria 2 (1989, 2005) 1 (1985)
  Italy 1 (2023) 1 (2017) 1 (2019)
  Mexico 1 (1977) 1 (2011)
  South Korea 1 (2019) 2 (1983, 2023)
  Qatar 1 (1981)
  Japan 1 (1999)
  Czech Republic 1 (2007)
  Venezuela 1 (2017)
  Mali 2 (1999, 2015)
  Poland 1 (1983) 1 (1979)
  Chile 1 (2007) 1 (1987)
  Romania 1 (1981)
  East Germany 1 (1987)
  Republic of Ireland 1 (1997)
  Egypt 1 (2001)
  Colombia 1 (2003)
  Hungary 1 (2009)
  Ecuador 1 (2019)
  Israel 1 (2023)
  Australia 2 (1991, 1993)
  United States 1 (1989)
  Paraguay 1 (2001)
  Morocco 1 (2005)
  Austria 1 (2007)
  Costa Rica 1 (2009)
  Iraq 1 (2013)
  Senegal 1 (2015)
1 = includes results representing Yugoslavia
2 = includes results representing USSR
3 = includes results representing West Germany

Performances by continental zones (as of 2023)

Map of the best results for each country
Map of the best results for each country

All continental confederations except for the OFC (Oceania) have made an appearance in the final match of the tournament. To date, CONMEBOL (South America) leads with twelve titles, followed by UEFA (Europe) with ten titles and CAF (Africa) with one title. Teams from the AFC (Asia) and CONCACAF (North America, Central America, Caribbean) have made the tournament final four times, but were defeated by strong UEFA sides. No current OFC member has ever made the semifinals; Australia reached the semifinals as an OFC member in 1991 and 1993, finishing fourth on both occasions, before the country joined the AFC in 2006.

Confederation (continent) Performances
Winners Runners-up Third Fourth
CONMEBOL (South America) 12 titles: Argentina (6), Brazil (5), Uruguay (1) 8 times: Brazil (4), Uruguay (2), Argentina (1), Venezuela (1) 7 times: Brazil (3), Chile (1), Colombia (1), Ecuador (1), Uruguay (1) 6 times: Uruguay (3), Argentina (1), Chile (1), Paraguay (1)
UEFA (Europe) 10 titles: Portugal (2), Serbia1 (2), England (1), France (1), West Germany (1), Spain (1), Ukraine (1), USSR (1) 7 times: Spain (2), Czech Republic (1), West Germany (1), Italy (1), Portugal (1), USSR (1) 10 times: England (1), East Germany (1), Hungary (1), Rep. of Ireland (1), Israel (1), Italy (1), Poland (1), Portugal (1), Romania (1), USSR (1) 7 times: Austria (1), England (1), France (1), Italy (1), Poland (1), Spain (1), USSR (1)
CAF (Africa) 1 title: Ghana (1) 4 times: Ghana (2), Nigeria (2) 5 times: Mali (2), Egypt (1), Ghana (1), Nigeria (1) 3 times: Ghana (1), Morocco (1), Senegal (1)
AFC (Asia) None 3 times: Japan (1), Qatar (1), South Korea (1) None 3 times: South Korea (2), Iraq (1)
CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) None 1 time: Mexico (1) 1 time: Mexico (1) 2 times: Costa Rica (1), United States (1)
OFC (Oceania) None None None 2 times: Australia2 (2)
1 = as Yugoslavia (1987).
2 = as part of OFC (currently in AFC since 2006).

Awards

The following awards are now presented:

  • The Golden Ball is awarded to the most valuable player of the tournament;
  • The Golden Boot is awarded to the top goalscorer of the tournament;
  • The Golden Glove is awarded to the most valuable goalkeeper of the tournament;
  • The FIFA Fair Play Trophy is presented to the team with the best disciplinary record in the tournament.
Tournament Golden Ball Golden Boot Goals Golden Glove FIFA Fair Play Trophy
Tunisia 1977 Tunisia Soviet Union Vladimir Bessonov Brazil Guina 4 Not Awarded   Brazil
Japan 1979 Japan Argentina Diego Maradona Argentina Ramón Díaz 8   Poland
Australia 1981 Australia Romania Romulus Gabor Australia Mark Koussas 4   Australia
Mexico 1983 Mexico Brazil Geovani Brazil Geovani 6   South Korea
Soviet Union 1985 Soviet Union Brazil Paulo Silas Spain Sebastián Losada 3   Colombia
Chile 1987 Chile Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Robert Prosinečki West Germany Marcel Witeczek 7   West Germany
Saudi Arabia 1989 Saudi Arabia Brazil Bismarck Soviet Union Oleg Salenko 5   United States
Portugal 1991 Portugal Portugal Emílio Peixe Soviet Union Sergei Sherbakov 5   Soviet Union
Australia 1993 Australia Brazil Adriano Colombia Henry Zambrano 3   England
Qatar 1995 Qatar Brazil Caio Spain Joseba Etxeberria 7   Japan
Malaysia 1997 Malaysia Uruguay Nicolás Olivera Brazil Adaílton 10   Argentina
Nigeria 1999 Nigeria Mali Seydou Keita Spain Pablo Couñago 5   Croatia
Argentina 2001 Argentina Argentina Javier Saviola Argentina Javier Saviola 11   Argentina
United Arab Emirates 2003 United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates Ismail Matar United States Eddie Johnson 4   Colombia
Netherlands 2005 Netherlands Argentina Lionel Messi Argentina Lionel Messi 6   Colombia
Canada 2007 Canada Argentina Sergio Agüero Argentina Sergio Agüero 6   Japan
Egypt 2009 Egypt Ghana Dominic Adiyiah Ghana Dominic Adiyiah 8 Costa Rica Esteban Alvarado   Brazil
Colombia 2011 Colombia Brazil Henrique Almeida Brazil Henrique Almeida 5 Portugal Mika   Nigeria
Turkey 2013 Turkey France Paul Pogba Ghana Ebenezer Assifuah 6 Uruguay Guillermo de Amores   Spain
New Zealand 2015 New Zealand Mali Adama Traoré Ukraine Viktor Kovalenko 5 Serbia Predrag Rajković   Ukraine
South Korea 2017 South Korea England Dominic Solanke Italy Riccardo Orsolini 5 England Freddie Woodman   Mexico
Poland 2019 Poland South Korea Lee Kang-in Norway Erling Haaland 9 Ukraine Andriy Lunin   Japan
Argentina 2023 Argentina Italy Cesare Casadei Italy Cesare Casadei 7 Italy Sebastiano Desplanches   United States
Chile 2025 Chile

See also

References

  1. ^ CBC.ca Archived 22 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Tolmich, Ryan (18 May 2023). "Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Erling Haaland and the superstars who have dominated the U20 World Cup". Goal.
  3. ^ "Indonesia stripped of hosting Under-20 World Cup by FIFA". Associated Press News. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.

External links