# 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship

The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 14th FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. Brazil claimed their fourth title, becoming the first country to simultaneously hold all three World Cups of the same gender (senior, under-20, and under-17). The tournament was originally planned to be played 25 March to 16 April 2003, but was postponed because of the Iraq War.

## Venues

| Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi | Al Ain | Al Ain | Al Ain |
| Zayed Sports City Stadium | Zayed Sports City Stadium | Zayed Sports City Stadium | Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium | Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium | Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium | Al Nahyan Stadium | Al Nahyan Stadium | Al Nahyan Stadium | Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium | Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium | Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium |
| Capacity: 66,000 | Capacity: 66,000 | Capacity: 66,000 | Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 |
| Abu DhabiSharjahDubaiAl Ain2003 FIFA World Youth Championship (United Arab Emirates) ||||||||||||
| Dubai | Dubai | Dubai | Dubai | Dubai | Dubai | Dubai | Dubai | Sharjah | Sharjah | Sharjah | Sharjah |
| Al-Maktoum Stadium | Al-Maktoum Stadium | Al-Maktoum Stadium | Al-Maktoum Stadium | Al-Rashid Stadium | Al-Rashid Stadium | Al-Rashid Stadium | Al-Rashid Stadium | Sharjah Stadium | Sharjah Stadium | Sharjah Stadium | Sharjah Stadium |
| Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 18,000 | Capacity: 18,000 | Capacity: 18,000 | Capacity: 18,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 |

## Qualification

The following 24 teams qualified for the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship.
| Confederation | Qualifying Tournament | Qualifier(s) |
| AFC (Asia) | Host nation | United Arab Emirates |
| AFC (Asia) | 2002 AFC Youth Championship | Japan Saudi Arabia South Korea Uzbekistan |
| CAF (Africa) | 2003 African Youth Championship | Burkina Faso Ivory Coast Egypt Mali |
| CONCACAF (North, Central America & Caribbean) | 2003 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament | Canada Mexico Panama United States |
| CONMEBOL (South America) | 2003 South American Youth Championship | Argentina Brazil Colombia Paraguay |
| OFC (Oceania) | 2002 OFC U-20 Championship | Australia |
| UEFA (Europe) | 2002 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship | Czech Republic England Germany Republic of Ireland Slovakia Spain |
    1.^ Teams that made their debut.

## Squads

For a list of all squads that played in the final tournament, see 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship squads.

## Group stage

The 24 teams were split into six groups of four teams. Six group winners, six second-place finishers and the four best third-place finishers qualify for the knockout round.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Group stage result |
| 1 | Burkina Faso | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Slovakia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates (H) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | Panama | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Group stage result |
| 1 | Argentina | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Spain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Mali | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 0 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Group stage result |
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Brazil | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Canada | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | Czech Republic | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Group stage result |
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Colombia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Egypt | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | England | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1 | |

### Group E

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Group stage result |
| 1 | Republic of Ireland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Ivory Coast | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Mexico | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 | |

### Group F

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Group stage result |
| 1 | United States | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Paraguay | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | Germany | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | |

### Ranking of third-placed teams

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Result |
| 1 | D | Egypt | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | A | United Arab Emirates (H) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | F | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | C | Canada | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 5 | B | Mali | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |
| 6 | E | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |

## Knockout stages
### Bracket

| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 8 December | 8 December | | | | | | |
| Burkina Faso | 0 | | | | | | |
| Burkina Faso | 0 | 12 December | 12 December | | | | | |
| Canada | 1 | 12 December | 12 December | | | | |
| Canada | 1 | Canada | 1 | | | | |
| 9 December | 9 December | | Canada | 1 | | | | |
| 9 December | 9 December | Spain (aet) | 2 | | | | |
| Paraguay | 0 | Spain (aet) | 2 | | | | |
| Paraguay | 0 | | | | 15 December | 15 December | | |
| Spain | 1 | | | | 15 December | 15 December | |
| Spain | 1 | | | | Spain | 1 | |
| 9 December | 9 December | | | | | Spain | 1 | |
| 9 December | 9 December | | | | Colombia | 0 | |
| Republic of Ireland | 2 | | | | Colombia | 0 | |
| Republic of Ireland | 2 | 12 December | 12 December | | | | | |
| Colombia (aet) | 3 | 12 December | 12 December | | | | |
| Colombia (aet) | 3 | Colombia | 1 | | | | |
| 9 December | 9 December | | Colombia | 1 | | | | |
| 9 December | 9 December | United Arab Emirates | 0 | | | | |
| Australia | 0 | United Arab Emirates | 0 | | | | |
| Australia | 0 | | | | | | | 19 December | 19 December |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | | | | | | | 19 December | 19 December |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | | | | | | | Spain | 0 |
| 8 December | 8 December | | | | | | | | Spain | 0 |
| 8 December | 8 December | | | | | | | Brazil | 1 |
| Japan (aet) | 2 | | | | | | | Brazil | 1 |
| Japan (aet) | 2 | 12 December | 12 December | | | | | | |
| South Korea | 1 | 12 December | 12 December | | | | | | |
| South Korea | 1 | Japan | 1 | | | | | | |
| 9 December | 9 December | | Japan | 1 | | | | | | |
| 9 December | 9 December | Brazil | 5 | | | | | | |
| Brazil (aet) | 2 | Brazil | 5 | | | | | | |
| Brazil (aet) | 2 | | | | 15 December | 15 December | | | | |
| Slovakia | 1 | | | | 15 December | 15 December | | | |
| Slovakia | 1 | | | | Brazil | 1 | | | |
| 8 December | 8 December | | | | | Brazil | 1 | | | |
| 8 December | 8 December | | | | Argentina | 0 | | Third place | Third place |
| United States | 2 | | | | Argentina | 0 | | Third place | Third place |
| United States | 2 | 12 December | 12 December | | | | | 19 December | 19 December |
| Ivory Coast | 0 | 12 December | 12 December | | | | | 19 December | 19 December |
| Ivory Coast | 0 | United States | 1 | | | | | Colombia | 2 |
| 8 December | 8 December | | United States | 1 | | | | | Colombia | 2 |
| 8 December | 8 December | Argentina (aet) | 2 | | | | | Argentina | 1 |
| Argentina (aet) | 2 | Argentina (aet) | 2 | | | | | Argentina | 1 |
| Egypt | 1 | | | | | | | | |

### Final

| Spain | Brazil |

## Result

* 2003 FIFA World Youth champions
* Brazil Fourth title
| 2nd Place | 3rd Place | 4th Place |
| Spain | Colombia | Argentina |

## Awards

| Golden Shoe | Golden Ball | FIFA Fair Play Award |
| Eddie Johnson | Ismail Matar | Colombia |

## Goalscorers
### 4 goals

* Dudu
* Fernando Cavenaghi
* Daisuke Sakata
* Eddie Johnson

### 3 goals

* Arouna Koné
* Andrés Iniesta
* Daniel Carvalho
* Stephen Elliott
* Leandro Fernández
* Iain Hume
* Nilmar

### 2 goals

* Osmar Ferreyra
* Anthony Danze
* Erwin Carrillo
* Jaime Castrillón
* Victor Montano
* David Limberský
* Stephen Paisley
* Sota Hirayama
* Mamadi Berthe
* Sergio García
* Bobby Convey
* Alexander Geynrikh

### 1 goal

* 57 players with one goal.

## Final ranking

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
| 1 | Brazil | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 16 | Champions |
| 2 | Spain | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 15 | Runners-up |
| 3 | Colombia | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 14 | Third place |
| 4 | Argentina | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 15 | Fourth place |
| 5 | United States | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 9 | Eliminated in Quarter-finals |
| 6 | Japan | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 9 | Eliminated in Quarter-finals |
| 7 | United Arab Emirates (H) | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 7 | Eliminated in Quarter-finals |
| 8 | Canada | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 6 | Eliminated in Quarter-finals |
| 9 | Republic of Ireland | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 7 | Eliminated in Round of 16 |
| 10 | Australia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7 | Eliminated in Round of 16 |
| 11 | Burkina Faso | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 7 | Eliminated in Round of 16 |
| 12 | Slovakia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | Eliminated in Round of 16 |
| 13 | Paraguay | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | Eliminated in Round of 16 |
| 14 | Ivory Coast | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 5 | Eliminated in Round of 16 |
| 15 | Egypt | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 | Eliminated in Round of 16 |
| 16 | South Korea | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | Eliminated in Round of 16 |
| 17 | Germany | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | Eliminated in Group stage |
| 18 | Mali | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | Eliminated in Group stage |
| 19 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | Eliminated in Group stage |
| 19 | Czech Republic | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | Eliminated in Group stage |
| 21 | England | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1 | Eliminated in Group stage |
| 22 | Mexico | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 | Eliminated in Group stage |
| 23 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 0 | Eliminated in Group stage |
| 24 | Panama | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 | Eliminated in Group stage |