# 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

The 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 2002 as the FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship (age limit was raised from 19 to 20 in 2006).
The tournament was held in France between 5 and 24 August 2018, who would also host the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Haiti and the Netherlands made their U-20 Women's World Cup debuts. North Korea were the defending champions but were eliminated by host France in the quarter-finals.
The final took place at Stade de la Rabine, Vannes between Spain and Japan, a rematch from the group stage. Japan won their first title, beating Spain 3–1 in the Final.

## Host selection

On 6 March 2014, FIFA announced that bidding had begun for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Member associations interested in hosting must submit a declaration of interest by 15 April 2014, and provide the complete set of bidding documents by 31 October 2014. The FIFA Executive Committee would select the hosts in 2015. In principle, FIFA preferred the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup to be hosted by the same member association, but if circumstances required, FIFA reserved the right to award the hosting of the events separately.
The following countries made official bids for hosting the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup by submitting their documents by 31 October 2014:
* France
* South Korea
The following countries withdrew their bid for hosting the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup:
* England - England registered an expression of interest by the April 2014 deadline, but in June 2014 it was announced that they would no longer proceed.
* New Zealand - New Zealand registered an expression of interest by the April 2014 deadline, but in June 2014 it was announced that they would no longer proceed.
* South Africa - South Africa registered an expression of interest by the April 2014 deadline, but in June 2014 it was announced that they would no longer proceed.
France were awarded the hosting rights of both tournaments by the FIFA Executive Committee on 19 March 2015.

## Qualified teams

A total of 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. In addition to France, which qualified automatically as hosts, the other 15 teams qualified from six separate continental competitions. The slot allocation was approved by the FIFA Council on 13–14 October 2016.
| Confederation | Qualifying tournament | Team | Appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance |
| AFC (Asia) | 2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship | China | 6th | 2014 | Runners-up (2004, 2006) |
| AFC (Asia) | 2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship | Japan | 6th | 2016 | Third place (2012, 2016) |
| AFC (Asia) | 2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship | North Korea | 7th | 2016 | Champions (2006, 2016) |
| CAF (Africa) | 2018 African U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament | Ghana | 5th | 2016 | Group stage (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016) |
| CAF (Africa) | 2018 African U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament | Nigeria | 9th | 2016 | Runners-up (2010, 2014) |
| CONCACAF (North, Central America & Caribbean) | 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship | Haiti | 1st | None | Debut |
| CONCACAF (North, Central America & Caribbean) | 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship | Mexico | 8th | 2016 | Quarter-finals (2010, 2012, 2016) |
| CONCACAF (North, Central America & Caribbean) | 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship | United States | 9th | 2016 | Champions (2002, 2008, 2012) |
| CONMEBOL (South America) | 2018 South American U-20 Women's Championship | Brazil | 9th | 2016 | Third place (2006) |
| CONMEBOL (South America) | 2018 South American U-20 Women's Championship | Paraguay | 2nd | 2014 | Group stage (2014) |
| OFC (Oceania) | 2017 OFC U-19 Women's Championship | New Zealand | 7th | 2016 | Quarter-finals (2014) |
| UEFA (Europe) | Host nation | France | 7th | 2016 | Runners-up (2016) |
| UEFA (Europe) | 2017 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship | England | 5th | 2014 | Quarter-finals (2002, 2008) |
| UEFA (Europe) | 2017 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship | Germany | 9th | 2016 | Champions (2004, 2010, 2014) |
| UEFA (Europe) | 2017 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship | Netherlands | 1st | None | Debut |
| UEFA (Europe) | 2017 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship | Spain | 3rd | 2016 | Quarter-finals (2016) |

## Venues

The four host cities, all located in the region of Brittany, were announced on 7 September 2017. The opening match, semi-finals, third place match and final were played in Vannes.
| Vannes | Concarneau | Saint-Malo | Dinan-Léhon |
| Stade de la Rabine | Stade Guy Piriou | Stade de Marville | Stade du Clos Gastel |
| Capacity: 9,500 | Capacity: 6,500 | Capacity: 2,500 | Capacity: 2,000 |
| Location of the region of Brittany in France. | Location of the region of Brittany in France. | VannesConcarneauSaint-MaloDinan-Léhonclass=notpageimage| Location of the host cities of the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in the region of Brittany. | VannesConcarneauSaint-MaloDinan-Léhonclass=notpageimage| Location of the host cities of the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in the region of Brittany. |

## Branding

The official emblem was unveiled on 22 September 2017.

## Draw

The official draw was held on 8 March 2018, 11:00 CET (UTC+1), at the Rennes Opera House in Rennes. The teams were seeded based on their performances in previous U-20 Women's World Cups and confederation tournaments, with the hosts France automatically seeded and assigned to position A1. Teams of the same confederation could not meet in the group stage, except for UEFA with five teams so one group would contain two UEFA teams.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| France  Germany  North Korea  Japan | United States  Nigeria  Mexico  New Zealand | Brazil  Spain  Ghana  China | England  Paraguay  Haiti  Netherlands |

## Squads

Players born between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2002 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team had to name a preliminary squad of 35 players. From the preliminary squad, the team had to name a final squad of 21 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by the FIFA deadline. Players in the final squad could be replaced due to serious injury up to 24 hours prior to kickoff of the team's first match.

## Match officials

A total of 15 referees and 30 assistant referees were appointed by FIFA for the tournament.
| Confederation | Referees | Assistant referees |
| AFC | Kate Jacewicz Qin Liang Ri Hyang-ok | Renae Coghill Fang Yan Cui Yongmei Uvena Fernandes Hong Kum-nyo Kim Kyoung-min |
| CAF | Lidya Tafesse Abebe Gladys Lengwe | Bernadettar Kwimbira Mary Njoroge Lidwine Rakotozafinoro Queency Victoire |
| CONCACAF | Carol Anne Chenard Melissa Borjas | Chantal Boudreau Yudilia Briones Kathryn Nesbitt Shirley Perelló |
| CONMEBOL | Edina Alves Batista Claudia Umpiérrez | Mónica Amboya Neuza Back Luciana Mascaraña Tatiane Sacilotti |
| OFC | Anna-Marie Keighley | Lata Kaumatule Maria Salamasina |
| UEFA | Jana Adámková Stéphanie Frappart Kateryna Monzul Esther Staubli Bibiana Steinhaus | Petruta Iugulescu Chrysoula Kourompylia Susanne Küng Sian Massey Manuela Nicolosi Michelle O'Neill Belinda Pierre Katrin Rafalski Sanja Rodak Maryna Striletska |

## Group stage

The official schedule was unveiled on 17 January 2018.
The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals. The rankings of teams in each group were determined as follows (regulations Article 17.7):
* points obtained in all group matches;
* goal difference in all group matches;
* number of goals scored in all group matches;
If two or more teams were equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings were determined as follows:
* points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
* goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
* number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
* fair play points in all group matches: first yellow card: minus 1 point;indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points;direct red card: minus 4 points;yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points;
* drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.
All times are local, CEST (UTC+2).

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | France (H) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 7 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Ghana | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 3 | |
| 4 | New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 7 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | North Korea | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Mexico | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Brazil | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Spain | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | United States | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 4 | |
| 4 | Paraguay | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 16 | −15 | 0 | |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Germany | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Nigeria | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | China | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Haiti | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 0 | |

## Knockout stage

In the knockout stages, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time would be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. However, for the third place match, no extra time was played and the winner was determined by a penalty shoot-out if necessary.

### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 16 August – Concarneau | 16 August – Concarneau | | | |
| France | 1 | | | |
| France | 1 | 20 August – Vannes | 20 August – Vannes | | |
| North Korea | 0 | 20 August – Vannes | 20 August – Vannes | |
| North Korea | 0 | France | 0 | |
| 16 August – Concarneau | 16 August – Concarneau | | France | 0 | |
| 16 August – Concarneau | 16 August – Concarneau | Spain | 1 | |
| Spain | 2 | Spain | 1 | |
| Spain | 2 | | | | 24 August – Vannes | 24 August – Vannes |
| Nigeria | 1 | | | | 24 August – Vannes | 24 August – Vannes |
| Nigeria | 1 | | | | Spain | 1 |
| 17 August – Vannes | 17 August – Vannes | | | | | Spain | 1 |
| 17 August – Vannes | 17 August – Vannes | | | | Japan | 3 |
| England | 2 | | | | Japan | 3 |
| England | 2 | 20 August – Vannes | 20 August – Vannes | | | |
| Netherlands | 1 | 20 August – Vannes | 20 August – Vannes | | | |
| Netherlands | 1 | England | 0 | | | |
| 17 August – Vannes | 17 August – Vannes | | England | 0 | | | |
| 17 August – Vannes | 17 August – Vannes | Japan | 2 | | Third place | Third place |
| Germany | 1 | Japan | 2 | | Third place | Third place |
| Germany | 1 | | | | 24 August – Vannes | 24 August – Vannes |
| Japan | 3 | | | | 24 August – Vannes | 24 August – Vannes |
| Japan | 3 | | | | France | 1 (2) |
| | | | | | England (p) | 1 (4) |

### Final

* 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup winners
* Japan 1st title

## Awards

The following awards were given for the tournament:
| Golden Ball | Silver Ball | Bronze Ball |
| Patricia Guijarro | Saori Takarada | Moeka Minami |
| Golden Boot | Silver Boot | Bronze Boot |
| Patricia Guijarro | Georgia Stanway | Saori Takarada |
| 6 goals, 3 assists | 6 goals | 5 goals, 3 assists |
| Golden Glove |||
| Sandy MacIver |||
| FIFA Fair Play Award |||
| Japan |||

## Goalscorers

There were 98 goals scored in 32 matches, for an average of 3.06 goals per match.
6 goals
* Georgia Stanway
* Patricia Guijarro
5 goals
* Saori Takarada
* Riko Ueki
4 goals
* Amelie Delabre
* Emelyne Laurent
* Jacqueline Ovalle
* Savannah DeMelo
3 goals
* Lauren Hemp
* Alessia Russo
* Nérilia Mondésir
* Fenna Kalma
* Sophia Smith
2 goals
* Kerolin
* Laura Freigang
* Jun Endo
* Victoria Pelova
* Choe Kum-ok
1 goal
* Ariadina
* Geyse
* Shen Mengyu
* Zhang Linyan
* Zhao Yujie
* Chloe Kelly
* Sandy Baltimore
* Hélène Fercocq
* Klara Bühl
* Giulia Gwinn
* Kristin Kögel
* Janina Minge
* Stefanie Sanders
* Ruth Anima
* Sandra Owusu-Ansah
* Honoka Hayashi
* Hinata Miyazawa
* Fuka Nagano
* Katty Martínez
* Eva van Deursen
* Aniek Nouwen
* Rasheedat Ajibade
* Peace Efih
* Hannah Blake
* Ja Un-yong
* Kim Kyong-yong
* Son Sun-im
* Jessica Martínez
* Candela Andújar
* Aitana Bonmatí
* Lucía García
* Carmen Menayo
* Clàudia Pina
* Ashley Sanchez
1 own goal
* Dou Jiaxing (against Nigeria)