# 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 under the tournament name of FIFA World Youth Championship until 2005. 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." 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.
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 Under-19 Championship |
| OFC (Oceania) | OFC U-19 Men's Championship |

## 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 | Final | Final | Third place match | Third place match | Third place match | N° teams |
| Ed. | Year | Host | Champions | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | N° teams |
| 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 | 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 | 1 (1977) | 1 (1979) | 1 (1991) | 1 (1985) |
| Germany | 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)

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 | Performances | Performances | Performances |
| Confederation (continent) | 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), Serbia$^1$ (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: Australia$^2$ (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 |
| 1977 Tunisia | Vladimir Bessonov | Guina | 4 | Not Awarded | Brazil |
| 1979 Japan | Diego Maradona | Ramón Díaz | 8 | Not Awarded | Poland |
| 1981 Australia | Romulus Gabor | Mark Koussas | 4 | Not Awarded | Australia |
| 1983 Mexico | Geovani | Geovani | 6 | Not Awarded | South Korea |
| 1985 Soviet Union | Paulo Silas | Sebastián Losada | 3 | Not Awarded | Colombia |
| 1987 Chile | Robert Prosinečki | Marcel Witeczek | 7 | Not Awarded | West Germany |
| 1989 Saudi Arabia | Bismarck | Oleg Salenko | 5 | Not Awarded | United States |
| 1991 Portugal | Emílio Peixe | Sergei Sherbakov | 5 | Not Awarded | Soviet Union |
| 1993 Australia | Adriano | Henry Zambrano | 3 | Not Awarded | England |
| 1995 Qatar | Caio | Joseba Etxeberria | 7 | Not Awarded | Japan |
| 1997 Malaysia | Nicolás Olivera | Adaílton | 10 | Not Awarded | Argentina |
| 1999 Nigeria | Seydou Keita | Pablo Couñago | 5 | Not Awarded | Croatia |
| 2001 Argentina | Javier Saviola | Javier Saviola | 11 | Not Awarded | Argentina |
| 2003 United Arab Emirates | Ismail Matar | Eddie Johnson | 4 | Not Awarded | Colombia |
| 2005 Netherlands | Lionel Messi | Lionel Messi | 6 | Not Awarded | Colombia |
| 2007 Canada | Sergio Agüero | Sergio Agüero | 6 | Not Awarded | Japan |
| 2009 Egypt | Dominic Adiyiah | Dominic Adiyiah | 8 | Esteban Alvarado | Brazil |
| 2011 Colombia | Henrique Almeida | Henrique Almeida | 5 | Mika | Nigeria |
| 2013 Turkey | Paul Pogba | Ebenezer Assifuah | 6 | Guillermo de Amores | Spain |
| 2015 New Zealand | Adama Traoré | Viktor Kovalenko | 5 | Predrag Rajković | Ukraine |
| 2017 South Korea | Dominic Solanke | Riccardo Orsolini | 5 | Freddie Woodman | Mexico |
| 2019 Poland | Lee Kang-in | Erling Haaland | 9 | Andriy Lunin | Japan |
| 2023 Argentina | Cesare Casadei | Cesare Casadei | 7 | Sebastiano Desplanches | United States |
| 2025 Chile | | | | | |