 The trophy awarded, base changed in 2012. | |
| Organiser(s) | FIFA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002; 23 years ago (2002) |
| Region | International |
| Teams | 24 (finals) |
| Related competitions | FIFA U-20 World Cup FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup |
| Current champions |  North Korea (3rd title) |
| Most championships |  Germany North Korea United States(3 titles each) |
| Website | fifa.com/u20womensworldcup |
 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup | |
| Tournaments |
|---|
TheFIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is an internationalassociation football tournament, organized byFIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), for national teams of women under the age of 20. The tournament is held in even-numbered years. It was first held in2002 as theFIFA U-19 Women's World Championship with an upper age limit of 19. In2006, the age limit was raised to the current 20. The event was renamed as a World Cup since the2008 competition, making its name consistent with FIFA's other worldwide competitions for national teams.
Starting with the2010 edition, tournaments held in years immediately preceding theFIFA Women's World Cup are awarded as part of the bidding process for the Women's World Cup. In those years, the U-20 Women's World Cup serves as a test event for the host nation of the Women's World Cup, a role similar to that of the formerFIFA Confederations Cup in the men's game.
The current champions areNorth Korea, who won their third title at the2024 tournament in Colombia.
Each continental governing body has its own qualifying tournament, but Africa does not determine a champion.
The first women's world championship at the youth level, held as the2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship, with an age limit of 19, was hosted by Canada. The final, held atCommonwealth Stadium inEdmonton, drew a surprisingly large crowd of 47,000 to watchthe hosts play theUnited States. The US defeated Canada 1–0 on agolden goal byLindsay Tarpley. Canada'sChristine Sinclair was the adidas Golden Ball recipient, as tournamentMVP, and theGolden Shoe (10 goals) winner.The2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship was held inThailand. For the second time in a row, the current holders of thesenior World Cup,Germany, won the youth competition. The Golden Ball went to Brazilian star,Marta, while for the second time the Golden Boot went to a Canadian,Brittany Timko.In 2006, FIFA raised the women's youth championship age limit to 20 to match the men's, beginning with the2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship, held inRussia from 17 August through 3 September. The competition was held in four Moscow stadiums (Dinamo,Lokomotiv, Podmoskovie Stadium andTorpedo Stadion) and one in St. Petersburg (Petrovskiy Stadion).Korea DPR won the final 5–0 overChina PR.The2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship was held inChile, from 20 November to 7 December 2008.[1]Six years after winning their first championship at the youth level in 2002, theUnited States reclaimed the trophy with a 2–1 win over defending championsKorea DPR. The Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe went toSydney Leroux of theUnited States.The2010 edition of the tournament was held in Germany from 13 July to 1 August 2010. The host nation defeatedNigeria in the final to claim its second championship. It was the first time that an African nation had advanced as far as the semifinals. It was also the first tournament in which four different confederations were represented in the semifinals. The Golden Ball and Golden Shoe awards both went toAlexandra Popp of Germany.
The2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was played in Japan from 19 August to 8 September,[2] after initially having a hosting bid from Vietnam withdrawn and a bid from Uzbekistan rejected. The Golden Ball went toDzsenifer Marozsán of Germany, while the Golden Shoe went toKim Un-hwa of North Korea.The2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was held in Canada from 5–25 August 2014, who reprised its role as host after a Zimbabwean bid withdrew leaving the Canadian bid unopposed. The Golden Ball and Golden Shoe awards both went toAsisat Oshoala of Nigeria.
The2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was expected to be held in South Africa, but due to the country's withdrawal, a new host was chosen on 19 March 2015, and it was Papua New Guinea.[3]The2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was held in France from 5–24 August 2018; a year later France would host the2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. The Golden Ball and Golden Shoe awards both went toPatricia Guijarro of Spain.
The2020 edition was initially to be hosted jointly by Costa Rica and Panama in August 2020. Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic it has been postponed to January 2021, to be solely hosted by Costa Rica. Due to having the highest COVID-19 cases and deaths in the region, Panama withdrew from hosting this event along with the2022 Central American and Caribbean Games.[4] The tournament was initially postponed to 2021, subject to further monitoring.[5] On 17 November 2020, FIFA announced that the 2020 edition of the tournament would be cancelled.[6]Following the cancellation of the 2020 edition, Costa Rica were appointed as hosts of the tournament in2022.[6]
In 2024 the tournament expanded from 16 to 24 teams.[7] Colombia was selected as host on 23 June 2023.[8]Poland was selected as host on 17 December 2023.[9]
| Ed. | Year | Host | Final | Third place game | Num. teams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Champions | Score |  Runners-up |  Third place | Score | Fourth place | ||||
| 1 | 2002 |  Canada | United States | 1–0 (g.g.) | Canada | Germany | 1–1 (4–3p) |  Brazil | 12 |
| 2 | 2004 |  Thailand | Germany | 2–0 |  China | United States | 3–0 | Brazil | 12 |
| 3 | 2006 |  Russia | North Korea | 5–0 | China | Brazil | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (6–5p) | United States | 16 |
| 4 | 2008 |  Chile | United States | 2–1 | North Korea | Germany | 5–3 |  France | 16 |
| 5 | 2010 | Germany | Germany | 2–0 |  Nigeria |  South Korea | 1–0 |  Colombia | 16 |
| 6 | 2012 |  Japan | United States | 1–0 | Germany | Japan | 2–1 | Nigeria | 16 |
| 7 | 2014 | Canada | Germany | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Nigeria | France | 3–2 | North Korea | 16 |
| 8 | 2016 |  Papua New Guinea | North Korea | 3–1 | France | Japan | 1–0 | United States | 16 |
| 9 | 2018 | France | Japan | 3–1 |  Spain |  England | 1–1 (4–2p) | France | 16 |
| 10 | 2022 |  Costa Rica | Spain | 3–1 | Japan | Brazil | 4–1 |  Netherlands | 16 |
| 11 | 2024 | Colombia | North Korea | 1–0 | Japan | United States | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Netherlands | 24 |
| 12 | 2026 |  Poland | 24 | ||||||
| Year | Debuting teams | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | No. | Cum. | |
| 2002 |  Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, United States | 12 | 12 |
| 2004 | China, Italy, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand | 6 | 18 |
| 2006 |  Argentina, DR Congo, Finland, New Zealand, North Korea, Switzerland | 6 | 24 |
| 2008 | Chile, Norway | 2 | 26 |
| 2010 | Colombia, Costa Rica, Ghana, Sweden | 4 | 30 |
| 2012 | None | 0 | 30 |
| 2014 |  Paraguay | 1 | 31 |
| 2016 | Papua New Guinea, Venezuela | 2 | 33 |
| 2018 |  Haiti, Netherlands | 2 | 35 |
| 2022 | None | 0 | 35 |
| 2024 |  Austria, Cameroon, Fiji, Morocco | 4 | 39 |
| 2026 |  New Caledonia, Poland, Portugal | 3 | 42 |
| Team | Titles | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 3 (2004,2010,2014) | 1 (2012) | 2 (2002,2008) | — |
| North Korea | 3 (2006,2016,2024) | 1 (2008) | — | 1 (2014) |
| United States | 3 (2002,2008,2012) | — | 2 (2004,2024) | 2 (2006,2016) |
| Japan | 1 (2018) | 2 (2022,2024) | 2 (2012,2016) | — |
| Spain | 1 (2022) | 1 (2018) | — | — |
| Nigeria | — | 2 (2010,2014) | — | 1 (2012) |
| China PR | — | 2 (2004,2006) | — | — |
| France | — | 1 (2016) | 1 (2014) | 2 (2008,2018) |
| Canada | — | 1 (2002) | — | — |
| Brazil | — | — | 2 (2006,2022) | 2 (2002,2004) |
| South Korea | — | — | 1 (2010) | — |
| England | — | — | 1 (2018) | — |
| Netherlands | — | — | — | 2 (2022,2024) |
| Colombia | — | — | — | 1 (2010) |
For each tournament, the flag of the host country and the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.
| Team | Confederation | 2002 (12) | 2004 (12) | 2006 (16) | 2008 (16) | 2010 (16) | 2012 (16) | 2014 (16) | 2016 (16) | 2018 (16) | 2022 (16) | 2024 (24) | 2026 (24) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | CONMEBOL | • | • | R1 | R1 | • | R1 | • | • | • | • | R2 | 4 | |
| Australia | AFC[A] | QF | QF | R1 | • | • | • | • | • | • | R1 | R1 | 5 | |
| Austria | UEFA | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | R2 | • | 1 |
| Brazil | CONMEBOL | 4th | 4th | 3rd | QF | R1 | R1 | R1 | QF | R1 | 3rd | QF | 11 | |
| Cameroon | CAF | × | × | • | • | × | • | × | • | • | • | R2 | 1 | |
| Canada | CONCACAF | 2nd | QF | R1 | R1 | • | R1 | QF | R1 | • | R1 | R2 | Q | 10 |
| Chile | CONMEBOL | • | • | • | R1 | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | |
| China | AFC | • | 2nd | 2nd | R1 | • | R1 | R1 | • | R1 | • | • | 6 | |
| Chinese Taipei | AFC | R1 | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | |
| Colombia | CONMEBOL | • | • | • | • | 4th | • | • | • | • | QF | QF | 3 | |
| Costa Rica | CONCACAF | • | • | • | • | R1 | • | R1 | • | • | R1 | R1 | Q | 5 |
| Denmark | UEFA | QF | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 |
| DR Congo | CAF | × | • | R1 | R1 | • | • | × | • | × | • | • | 2 | |
| England | UEFA | QF | • | • | QF | R1 | • | R1 | • | 3rd | • | • | Q | 6 |
| Fiji | OFC | • | × | • | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | R1 | 1 | |
| Finland | UEFA | • | • | R1 | • | • | • | R1 | • | • | • | • | • | 2 |
| France | UEFA | R1 | • | QF | 4th | R1 | • | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | QF | R2 | Q | 10 |
| Germany | UEFA | 3rd | 1st | QF | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | QF | QF | R1 | QF | • | 11 |
| Ghana | CAF | × | × | • | • | R1 | R1 | R1 | R1 | R1 | R1 | R1 | 7 | |
| Haiti | CONCACAF | • | × | • | • | × | • | × | • | R1 | • | × | • | 1 |
| Italy | UEFA | • | R1 | • | • | • | R1 | • | • | • | • | • | Q | 3 |
| Japan | AFC | QF | • | • | QF | R1 | 3rd | • | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 8 | |
| Mexico | CONCACAF | R1 | • | R1 | R1 | QF | QF | R1 | QF | R1 | QF | R2 | Q | 11 |
| Morocco | CAF | • | • | • | × | × | • | • | × | • | • | R1 | 1 | |
| Netherlands | UEFA | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | QF | 4th | 4th | • | 3 |
| New Caledonia | OFC | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | Q | 1 |
| New Zealand | OFC | • | × | R1 | R1 | R1 | R1 | QF | R1 | R1 | R1 | R1 | 9 | |
| Nigeria | CAF | R1 | QF | QF | QF | 2nd | 4th | 2nd | R1 | QF | QF | R2 | 11 | |
| North Korea | AFC | • | • | 1st | 2nd | QF | QF | 4th | 1st | QF | × | 1st | 8 | |
| Norway | UEFA | • | • | • | R1 | • | QF | • | • | • | • | • | • | 2 |
| Papua New Guinea | OFC | × | • | • | × | × | • | • | R1 | • | • | • | 1 | |
| Paraguay | CONMEBOL | • | • | • | • | • | • | R1 | • | R1 | • | R1 | 3 | |
| Poland | UEFA | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | Q | 1 |
| Portugal | UEFA | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | Q | 1 |
| Russia | UEFA | • | QF | QF | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | × | × | 2 |
| South Korea | AFC | • | R1 | • | • | 3rd | QF | QF | R1 | • | R1 | R2 | 7 | |
| Spain | UEFA | • | R1 | • | • | • | • | • | QF | 2nd | 1st | QF | Q | 6 |
| Sweden | UEFA | • | • | • | • | QF | • | • | R1 | • | • | • | • | 2 |
| Switzerland | UEFA | • | • | R1 | • | R1 | R1 | • | • | • | • | • | • | 3 |
| Thailand | AFC | • | R1 | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | |
| United States | CONCACAF | 1st | 3rd | 4th | 1st | QF | 1st | QF | 4th | R1 | R1 | 3rd | Q | 12 |
| Venezuela | CONMEBOL | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | R1 | • | • | R1 | 2 |
— Hosts are from this confederation
| Confederation | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Top 8 | Top 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 3 |
| UEFA | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 5 |
| CONCACAF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 3 |
| CAF | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| CONMEBOL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
| OFC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2002 (12) | 2004 (12) | 2006 (16) | 2008 (16) | 2010 (16) | 2012 (16) | 2014 (16) | 2016 (16) | 2018 (16) | 2022 (16) | 2024 (24) | 2026 (24) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 38 |
| Top 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | |
| Top 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 20 | |
| Top 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | |
| Top 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| 1st | | | | | 4 | ||||||||
| 2nd | | | | | | 5 | |||||||
| 3rd |  | | | 3 | |||||||||
| 4th | | 1 |
| 2002 (12) | 2004 (12) | 2006 (16) | 2008 (16) | 2010 (16) | 2012 (16) | 2014 (16) | 2016 (16) | 2018 (16) | 2022 (16) | 2024 (24) | 2026 (24) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 26 |
| Top 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | |
| Top 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| Top 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Top 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1st | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2nd | | | 2 | ||||||||||
| 3rd | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 4th | | 1 |
| 2002 (12) | 2004 (12) | 2006 (16) | 2008 (16) | 2010 (16) | 2012 (16) | 2014 (16) | 2016 (16) | 2018 (16) | 2022 (16) | 2024 (24) | 2026 (24) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 39 |
| Top 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | |
| Top 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | |
| Top 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| Top 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 1st | | | | 3 | |||||||||
| 2nd | | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3rd | | | 2 | ||||||||||
| 4th | | | 2 |
| 2002 (12) | 2004 (12) | 2006 (16) | 2008 (16) | 2010 (16) | 2012 (16) | 2014 (16) | 2016 (16) | 2018 (16) | 2022 (16) | 2024 (24) | 2026 (24) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 28 |
| Top 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | |
| Top 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | |
| Top 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| Top 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1st | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2nd | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 3rd | | | 2 | ||||||||||
| 4th | | | | 3 |
| 2002 (12) | 2004 (12) | 2006 (16) | 2008 (16) | 2010 (16) | 2012 (16) | 2014 (16) | 2016 (16) | 2018 (16) | 2022 (16) | 2024 (24) | 2026 (24) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| Top 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Top 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Top 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Top 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1st | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2nd | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 3rd | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 4th | 0 |
| 2002 (12) | 2004 (12) | 2006 (16) | 2008 (16) | 2010 (16) | 2012 (16) | 2014 (16) | 2016 (16) | 2018 (16) | 2022 (16) | 2024 (24) | 2026 (24) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 54 |
| Top 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | |
| Top 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 31 | |
| Top 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | |
| Top 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | |
| 1st | | | | | 4 | ||||||||
| 2nd | | | | 3 | |||||||||
| 3rd | | | | | 4 | ||||||||
| 4th | | | | | 4 |
Below are the award winners.[10]
Awarded to the best player of the tournament.
| 
The topscorer award.
|
Awarded to the best goalkeeper.
|
|
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup winners | |
|---|---|
Internationalwomen's association football | ||
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide |  | |
| Asia | ||
| Africa | ||
| North America, Central America and the Caribbean | ||
| South America | ||
| Oceania | ||
| Europe | ||
| Non-FIFA | ||
| Games | ||
| Invitationals |
| |
Worldassociation football championships | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men |
| | ||||
| Women |
| |||||
| Variants | ||||||
