Poland have never played at a U-20 Women’s World Cup, and they open this one: Saturday 5 September, in Katowice, against Argentina.
This will be the twelfth edition of a tournament whose eleven completed editions have been won by only five countries. Korea DPR defend the title they took in Colombia in 2024 and could become the first nation to win a fourth. Germany, three-time winners, did not qualify.
It is also the first FIFA competition of any kind since UEFA and its 55 member associations announced on 30 July that no European national team would play in FIFA tournaments. As of 26 August the boycott has not formally been withdrawn and, even so, none of the six European sides has dropped out of the draw.
Kick-off times here are local. Poland is one hour ahead of the UK, so a 15:00 start is 14:00 BST and an 18:00 start is 17:00 BST.
The essentials
- Dates: 5 to 27 September 2026.
- Where: Poland, in four cities — Katowice, Sosnowiec, Bielsko-Biała and Łódź.
- Who: 24 teams from all six confederations, six of them debutants.
- How many matches: 52.
- Format: six groups of four; the top two in each and the four best third-placed teams reach the round of 16.
- First up: Poland v Argentina, Saturday the 5th at 15:00 in Katowice.
- Last up: the final, Sunday the 27th at 18:00 in Łódź.
- Deciding a tie: in the knockout rounds, two fifteen-minute periods of extra time, then penalties.
When and where it is played
The group stage runs across nine consecutive days, 5 to 13 September, with four matches a day: two at 15:00 and two at 18:00.
The round of 16 is on 16 and 17 September, the quarter-finals on 19 and 20, and the semi-finals on Wednesday 23. The third-place play-off is on Saturday 26 at 18:00, and the final on Sunday 27 at 18:00.
Four venues share the tournament:
- Arena Katowice, Katowice.
- Arena Sosnowiec, Sosnowiec.
- Stadion Miejski, Bielsko-Biała.
- Stadion Miejski ŁKS, Łódź.
Łódź has the biggest nights: both semi-finals, the third-place play-off and the final. It also hosted the draw on 15 May.
Each group has its own city, which saves a lot of looking up: Group A plays in Katowice, Group B in Bielsko-Biała, Groups C and F in Sosnowiec, and Groups D and E in Łódź. The rule breaks only on a group’s final matchday, when both matches kick off at the same time and two stadiums are needed: one of the two then travels.
How the tournament works
Twenty-four teams in six groups of four. Each plays three matches, and the top two in every group plus the four best third-placed teams reach the round of 16 — sixteen of the twenty-four. Everything after that is single-leg knockout football: level after ninety minutes means two fifteen-minute periods of extra time, and penalties if it is still level.
The places were allocated by confederation: six to UEFA, one of them Poland’s as hosts; four each to the AFC, CAF, Concacaf and CONMEBOL; and two to the OFC.
Every squad is 21 players, at least three of them goalkeepers. Two age limits apply: players must be born on or after 1 January 2006 — the one the category is named for — and no later than 31 December 2010, because there is a lower limit too: they have to turn 16 within the year.
The group tables and the knockout bracket update here throughout the tournament.
The six groups
They came out of the draw in Łódź on 15 May, with the 24 teams seeded into four pots on the FIFA ranking and Poland placed in pot one as hosts. The full list of qualified teams is on its own page.
Group A: two debutants, and one of them is historic
Poland (Marcin Kasprowicz) qualified automatically as hosts and arrive for the first time, two years after their first appearance at any FIFA women’s youth tournament. Benin (Abdoulaye Ouzerou) are also debutants, and theirs is the bigger story: no Benin women’s side had ever qualified for a FIFA competition. They came through Guinea (9-4 on aggregate), Egypt (5-0) and Côte d’Ivoire (5-2), winning the second leg of that last tie 4-1. Romaine Gandonou scored twice in it and finished African qualifying as its top scorer, on fourteen.
Mexico (Doriva Bueno) make an eleventh appearance, their tenth in a row; only Brazil, Nigeria and the USA have played more editions. They lost the 2025 Concacaf final to Canada, 3-2 after extra time. Argentina (Christian Meloni) are here for a fifth time after reaching the round of 16 in 2024, their best run.
Group B: England return after two missed tournaments
Brazil (Camilla Orlando) have never missed an edition and finished third in 2006 and 2022; they qualified by winning the 2026 South American championship. England (Lydia Bedford) are back after sitting out the last two: their best finish is still third place in 2018.
Canada (Cindy Tye) were runners-up in the very first tournament in 2002 and won the 2025 Concacaf championship. Tanzania (Bakari Shime) are debutants after a comeback: beaten 3-1 in Yaoundé, they won the return in Zanzibar through Mary Aaron and Hasnath Ubamba and went through on the away goal Winfrida Gerald had scored in the first leg.
Group C: four teams who have never won this
France (Philippe Joly) were runners-up in 2016 and are chasing a first title ten years on. They qualified as runners-up at the 2025 U-19 EURO, beaten 4-0 by Spain in the final.
Ghana (Charles Sampson) reach an eighth consecutive World Cup without ever having got out of the group; they beat Uganda 3-2 on aggregate. Korea Republic (Park Yoon-jeong) finished third in 2010 and came through the AFC semi-finals. Ecuador (Eduardo Moscoso) are debutants after finishing second in South America on eleven points, two behind the champions. Their captain, Fiorella Pico, is 18 and already played at her country’s first women’s World Cup of any kind, the 2024 U-17, where Ecuador went out in the quarter-finals.
Group D: the expensive group
Japan (Akira Ijiri) won in 2018 and have lost the last two finals; they beat Korea DPR 1-0 to win the AFC U-20 Asian Cup, with Noa Fukushima named the tournament’s most valuable player after five goals and three assists. The United States (Vicky Jepson) are three-time champions and have never missed an edition either.
New Zealand (Callum Holmes) arrive on a tenth straight appearance after beating New Caledonia 3-0 in the OFC final. Italy (Nicola Matteucci) return after fourteen years — they played in 2004 and 2012 — having reached the 2025 U-19 EURO semi-finals.
Group E: the holders, and three who have never been champions
Korea DPR (Han Chol-hak) defend the title they won in Colombia in 2024, their third. The country also won the last two U-17 World Cups: 2024, on penalties against Spain after a 1-1, and 2025, 3-0 against the Netherlands. They qualified through the AFC championship, losing the final to Japan.
Colombia (Carlos Paniagua) finished fourth in 2010, their ceiling, and hosted in 2024, going out to the Netherlands on penalties in the quarter-finals; they took the last South American place. Portugal (Marisa Gomes) are debutants after reaching the U-19 EURO semi-finals, second in a group behind Spain and ahead of England. Costa Rica (Patricia Aguilar) come to a fifth tournament with a record that is hard to read: twelve matches, twelve defeats.
Group F: the 2022 champions and the ever-present
Spain (David Aznar) won the tournament in 2022 and were runners-up in 2018; they qualified as U-19 European champions for a fourth year running, beating France 4-0 in the final in Rzeszów. Three of the four scorers that night — Cristina Librán, Daniela Agote and Noemí Bejarano — are in the squad for Poland; Clara Serrajordi is not. Nigeria (Christopher Danjuma) have never missed an edition and were runners-up in 2010 and 2014, beating Malawi 3-2 on aggregate to get here.
China PR (Wang Jun) return after eight years away and were runners-up in both 2004 and 2006. New Caledonia (Coralie Bretegnier) are debutants, through a 71st-minute goal from Aziliz Naaoutchoue against Fiji in the OFC semi-final.
Full group-stage fixtures
Results drop into the tournament calendar as they are played.
Saturday 5 September
- 15:00 · Group A: Poland v Argentina (Katowice)
- 15:00 · Group B: Brazil v Tanzania (Bielsko-Biała)
- 18:00 · Group A: Mexico v Benin (Katowice)
- 18:00 · Group B: Canada v England (Bielsko-Biała)
Sunday 6 September
- 15:00 · Group C: France v Korea Republic (Sosnowiec)
- 15:00 · Group D: Japan v New Zealand (Łódź)
- 18:00 · Group C: Ecuador v Ghana (Sosnowiec)
- 18:00 · Group D: USA v Italy (Łódź)
Monday 7 September
- 15:00 · Group E: Korea DPR v Portugal (Łódź)
- 15:00 · Group F: New Caledonia v China PR (Sosnowiec)
- 18:00 · Group E: Costa Rica v Colombia (Łódź)
- 18:00 · Group F: Spain v Nigeria (Sosnowiec)
Tuesday 8 September
- 15:00 · Group A: Benin v Argentina (Katowice)
- 15:00 · Group B: Brazil v Canada (Bielsko-Biała)
- 18:00 · Group A: Poland v Mexico (Katowice)
- 18:00 · Group B: England v Tanzania (Bielsko-Biała)
Wednesday 9 September
- 15:00 · Group C: Ghana v Korea Republic (Sosnowiec)
- 15:00 · Group D: Italy v New Zealand (Łódź)
- 18:00 · Group C: France v Ecuador (Sosnowiec)
- 18:00 · Group D: Japan v USA (Łódź)
Thursday 10 September
- 15:00 · Group E: Korea DPR v Costa Rica (Łódź)
- 15:00 · Group F: Spain v New Caledonia (Sosnowiec)
- 18:00 · Group E: Colombia v Portugal (Łódź)
- 18:00 · Group F: China PR v Nigeria (Sosnowiec)
Friday 11 September
- 15:00 · Group B: England v Brazil (Bielsko-Biała)
- 15:00 · Group B: Tanzania v Canada (Katowice)
- 18:00 · Group A: Benin v Poland (Bielsko-Biała)
- 18:00 · Group A: Argentina v Mexico (Katowice)
Saturday 12 September
- 15:00 · Group D: Italy v Japan (Łódź)
- 15:00 · Group D: New Zealand v USA (Sosnowiec)
- 18:00 · Group C: Ghana v France (Sosnowiec)
- 18:00 · Group C: Korea Republic v Ecuador (Łódź)
Sunday 13 September
- 15:00 · Group F: China PR v Spain (Sosnowiec)
- 15:00 · Group F: Nigeria v New Caledonia (Łódź)
- 18:00 · Group E: Colombia v Korea DPR (Łódź)
- 18:00 · Group E: Portugal v Costa Rica (Sosnowiec)
How the bracket fits together
The eight round-of-16 ties are already written, even if they have no names in them yet. Any team can read off where and when it would play, depending on how it finishes:
Wednesday 16 September
- 15:00 · Group A runners-up v Group C runners-up (Sosnowiec)
- 15:00 · Group B winners v a third-placed team from A, C or D (Katowice)
- 18:30 · Group D winners v a third-placed team from B, E or F (Sosnowiec)
- 18:30 · Group F winners v Group E runners-up (Katowice)
Thursday 17 September
- 15:00 · Group C winners v a third-placed team from A, B or F (Łódź)
- 15:00 · Group B runners-up v Group F runners-up (Bielsko-Biała)
- 18:30 · Group E winners v Group D runners-up (Łódź)
- 18:30 · Group A winners v a third-placed team from C, D or E (Bielsko-Biała)
Which of the four best third-placed teams goes into which tie depends on which groups produce them, and that is not settled until the first phase ends.
The quarter-finals are on Saturday 19 in Sosnowiec and Sunday 20 in Łódź, at 15:00 and 18:30. The semi-finals follow on Wednesday 23 in Łódź at the same times. Then the third-place play-off on the 26th and the final on the 27th, both at 18:00 and both in Łódź.
Who arrives with a record
Of the twenty-four, only eight have ever played a final at this tournament. The other sixteen have never got there.
By finals played, the eight are Korea DPR (4), Japan (3), the USA (3), Spain (2), Nigeria (2), China PR (2), France (1) and Canada (1).
Three marks inside that list are worth carrying around. The USA have never lost one: three finals, three titles, even if the last came in 2012. Korea DPR have played four and won three, the most recent in 2024. And Japan have been in the last three in a row, winning in 2018 and losing in 2022 and 2024.
The ninth is Germany, with four finals and three titles — the only country to have played a final here and not be in Poland.
There is a different kind of absence too, of a trophy that will not come: Brazil won an eleventh South American U-20 title in February and have still never played a final at this World Cup.
Seven names that have already decided something
None of this happened in Poland: it all comes from the road here, and the final squads decide who actually travels. But they explain how several of the places in Poland were won.
- Romaine Gandonou (Benin) finished African qualifying as its top scorer on fourteen, two of them in the 4-1 against Côte d’Ivoire that took a Benin women’s side to a FIFA tournament for the first time.
- Aziliz Naaoutchoue (New Caledonia) scored in the 71st minute against Fiji to put her country into a World Cup for the first time.
- Noa Fukushima (Japan) was named player of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup after five goals and three assists.
- Annabelle Chukwu (Canada) settled the Concacaf final in the 122nd minute, in a match that had been 1-1 at the end of normal time.
- Hasnath Ubamba (Tanzania) scored with a quarter of an hour left in Zanzibar to complete the comeback against Cameroon.
- Fiorella Pico (Ecuador) captained, at 18, the first Ecuadorian U-20 side ever to qualify for a World Cup.
- Cristina Librán (Spain) opened the 4-0 win over France in the U-19 EURO final with a shot from outside the box.
Roll of honour, and one glaring absence
Eleven completed editions — Poland 2026 will be the twelfth — have produced only five champions. The USA, Germany and Korea DPR have won three apiece; Japan and Spain one each.
| Year | Winner | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | USA | Canada |
| 2004 | Germany | China PR |
| 2006 | Korea DPR | China PR |
| 2008 | USA | Korea DPR |
| 2010 | Germany | Nigeria |
| 2012 | USA | Germany |
| 2014 | Germany | Nigeria |
| 2016 | Korea DPR | France |
| 2018 | Japan | Spain |
| 2022 | Spain | Japan |
| 2024 | Korea DPR | Japan |
There is no 2020 in the table: FIFA cancelled that edition because of the pandemic and offered the 2022 hosting to the country that had been due to stage it.
Germany are not here. They won three finals and lost one, in 2012, and they failed to reach the 2025 U-19 EURO finals, which was Europe’s qualifying route. Nor are the Netherlands, fourth in 2024, or Sweden: both played that tournament and both finished bottom of their group.
Brazil, Nigeria and the USA are the only sides to have qualified for all twelve editions, this one included: they have never missed.
Where to watch, and tickets
FIFA announced on 4 June that the tournament is part of the FIFA+ offering inside DAZN, which is free to view — but only “in selected territories”, and the release does not say which. As of 26 August no UK broadcaster has been announced, free-to-air or otherwise, and FIFA has not published a full list. This section will be updated when one is.
Tickets are on sale at FIFA.com/tickets, FIFA’s official ticketing route for the tournament, on general sale since 25 May.
Frequently asked questions
When does the 2026 U-20 Women’s World Cup start and finish?
It starts on Saturday 5 September with Poland v Argentina in Katowice and ends with the final in Łódź on Sunday 27 September at 18:00 local time.
How many teams play, and how many reach the round of 16?
Twenty-four play, in six groups of four. Sixteen go through: the top two in each group and the four best third-placed teams.
Who are the holders?
Korea DPR, who beat Japan 1-0 in the 2024 final in Colombia. It was their third title, level with the USA and Germany.
Which teams are making their debut?
Six: hosts Poland, Portugal, Ecuador, Benin, Tanzania and New Caledonia.
How many players can each team take?
Twenty-one.
Where are the semi-finals and the final played?
Both semi-finals, the third-place play-off and the final are at the Stadion Miejski ŁKS in Łódź.
What happens if a knockout match ends level?
Two fifteen-minute periods of extra time, then penalties if it is still level.
How often is this World Cup played?
Every two years. The first edition was in 2002 and this is the twelfth; the 2020 edition was cancelled because of the pandemic.
Can it be watched for free?
FIFA has put the tournament into the FIFA+ offering inside DAZN, which costs nothing — but only “in selected territories”, and it has not said which.
