The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup () was the 12th 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. It was hosted by Poland. It was the second time that Poland had hosted a FIFA tournament, having hosted the men's FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2019. It was the first time that Poland had hosted a FIFA women's tournament.
Spain were crowned champions, their second title in this tournament. North Korea were the defending champions, having won a joint-record third title in 2024, but lost to Spain in the final. Colombia defeated Italy in the bronze medal match to claim their first medal at the tournament.
Host selection Poland were announced as the 2026 Women's U-20 World Cup hosts following the FIFA Council meeting on 17 December 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Teams Qualification
A total of 24 teams qualified for the final tournament. In addition to Poland, who qualified automatically as hosts, the other 23 teams qualified from six separate continental competitions. The slot allocation remained unchanged from the previous edition.
AFC (Asia): 4 slots CAF (Africa): 4 slots CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean): 4 slots CONMEBOL (South America): 4 slots OFC (Oceania): 2 slots UEFA (Europe): 6 slots (including hosts Poland)
The host nation Poland, along with Portugal, New Caledonia, Ecuador, Tanzania and Benin made their debut at the U-20 Women's World Cup, with New Caledonia and Benin also making their first appearance in a FIFA women's tournament.
For the first time ever Germany failed to qualify, having participated in all editions until 2024.
Qualifying tournamentTeamQualification dateAppearance(s)Previous best performanceFirstLast2026 AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup200420181 (2004, 2006)200220245 (2018)200620242 (2006, 2016, 2024)200420243 (2010)2026 African U-20 Women's World Cup qualification201020248 (seven times)2002202412 (2010, 2014)1st1st2025 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship200220243 (2002)2002202410 (2010, 2012, 2016, 2022)2002202412 (2002, 2008, 2012)201020243 (2010, 2014, 2022, 2024)2026 South American U-20 Women's Championship2002202412 (2006, 2022)1st200620242 (2024)201020243 (2010)2025 OFC U-19 Women's Championship1st2006202410 (2014)Host nation1st2025 UEFA Women's U-19 Championship200220246 (2016)200420121 (2004, 2012)200220181 (2018)1st200420245 (2022)
Draw The draw took place on 15 May 2026 at the EC1 Cultural Center in Łódź, Poland. The 24 teams were divided into four pots of 6, with hosts Poland automatically placed in Pot 1. The remaining teams were allocated according to a ranking based on performances in the last five editions of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, with greater weight given to more recent tournaments.
Teams from Pots 1 to 4 were drawn into Groups A to F, with each pot emptied before moving to the next. Poland were assigned to position A1, while the remaining Pot 1 teams automatically occupied position 1 in Groups B to F.
For each draw, a team ball was drawn first, followed by a group-position ball determining its placement within the group. FIFA's general principle is to, whenever possible, avoid having more than one team from the same confederation in the same group. + PotsPotTeamConfederation20142016201820222024TotalpointsPoints(20%)Points(40%)Points(60%)Points(80%)Points(100%)1 (H)UEFAHost nation, automatically assigned to Pot 1AFC4.8910.41842.2UEFA2.47.812.81235AFC1.47.23.62133.2CONMEBOL0.21.60.610.41224.8UEFA2.64.46.65.6423.22CONCACAF1.43.22.42.41322.4CAF2.62.42.47.2620.6CONMEBOL41317CONCACAF0.42.41.84412.6AFC11.22.448.6UEFA0.46.673CAF1.20.81.8036.8CONCACAF1.20045.2OFC1.21.20.61.604.6CONMEBOL44AFC0.42.42.8CONCACAF00004UEFA0UEFA0CONMEBOL0CAF0CAF0OFC0
Venues Łódź, Katowice, Sosnowiec, and Bielsko-Biała were the cities nominated to host the competition on 8 May 2025. The official venues were announced by FIFA in 6 September 2025.
+2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup venuesŁódźKatowice Stadion ŁKS Arena Katowice Capacity: 18,029 Capacity: 15,048 Sosnowiec Bielsko-Biała Zagłębie Sports Park Stadion w Bielsku-Białej Capacity: 11,600 Capacity: 15,316
Marketing Emblem The official emblem was revealed on 6 September 2025.
Theme song The competition's official song is titled "Yeyeyo" and is performed by Blanka. The song was released on 7 August 2026.
Mascot The tournament's mascot is called "Islana". The mascot represented spirits from Slavic mythology and was shaped after a rusalka. It was unveiled on 5 May 2026.
Squads
Players born between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2010 were eligible to compete in the tournament.
Match officials On 23 June 2026, FIFA confirmed that a total of 68 match officials had been appointed for the competition: 18 referees, 36 assistant referees and 14 video match officials.
ConfederationRefereeAssistant refereesVideo assistant refereesAFC Asaka Koizumi Riiohlang Dhar Amal Badhafari Sivakorn Pu-udom Casey Reibelt Emma Kocbek Madelaine Allum Kim Yu-jeong Heba Saadia Supawan HinthongCAF Shamirah Nabadda Fides Bangourabona Fanta Kone Maria Rivet Salima Mukansanga Letticia Viana Antsino Twanyanyukwa Carine Atezambong Fomo Diana ChikoteshaCONCACAF Alyssa Pennington Jassett Kerr-Wilson Meghan Mullen Ismael Cornejo Diana Pérez Lizzet García Aranza Quero Aguilar Jéssica Morales Marianela Araya Lourdes Noriega Shirley Perelló Myriam Marcotte Gabrielle Lemieux Mijensa RenschCONMEBOL Anahí Fernández Daiana Fernández Sofia Sarzay Castro Rodrigo Carvajal María Victoria Daza Susana Corella Stefani Escobar Charly Straub Anne Gomes de Sá Fernanda Gomes Antunes Dione Rissios Leslie Vásquez Yomara Salazar Milagros Arruela Mariana Aquino Vera YupanquiUEFA Alina Peșu Heini Hyvönen Daniela Constatinescu Angelos Evangelou Eszter Urbán Catarina Ferreira Jelena Jovanović-Džajić Iuliana Demetrescu Irina Pozdejeva Paulina Baranowska Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi Emily Carney Stefania Signorelli Marta Huerta de Aza Andreia Sousa Iragartze Fernández Silvia Gasperotti Giulia Tempestilli Svitlana Grushko
Group stage All times are local, CEST (UTC+2).
+ The ranking of teams in each group was determined by the points obtained in all group matches. If two or more teams were equal on points, the following criteria were used to determine the ranking:
If, after having applied criteria a to c, teams still had an equal ranking, criteria a to c were reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams who were still level to determine their final rankings. If this procedure did not lead to a decision, criteria d to h applied. Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Ranking of third-placed teams The four best third-placed teams from the six groups advance to the knockout stage along with the six group winners and six runners-up.
Knockout stage In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time was played (two periods of fifteen minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.
Bracket
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Bronze final
Final
Awards The following awards were given for performances at the tournament:
Golden BallSilver BallBronze Ball Rosalía Domínguez Ri Kuk-hyang Pau ComendadorGolden BootSilver BootBronze Boot Pau Comendador Annika Paz Choe Yon-a6 goals5 goals, 1 assist5 goals Golden Glove Laia López FIFA Fair Play Award
Statistics Goalscorers
Notes
Tournament ranking Per statistical convention in soccer, matches decided in extra time were counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shootouts were counted as draws.
UEFA boycott attempt On 30 July 2026, following FIFA's announcement of FIFA Forward Enterprise (a proposal to sell stakes in FIFA's tournament operations, including for the U-20 Women's World Cup, to private investors), all 55 UEFA member associations agreed on an indefinite boycott of FIFA competitions until the proposal was shelved and assurances were made that such a proposal would not be tabulated again. As the boycott was announced with just over a month until the tournament would begin, it was unclear what the impact of the boycott would be on the five qualified UEFA teams, including hosts Poland. On 31 July 2026, the Polish Football Association stated that the tournament was expected to go ahead as normal and that no UEFA teams had indicated a potential withdrawal. That same day, FIFA scrapped the investment proposal, although UEFA stated that, regardless, it had 'lost confidence' in FIFA's governance. On 7 August, the French Football Federation stated that the France national team would still participate in the tournament. On 27 August, following written assurances that a similar private investment proposal wouldn't be brought up, UEFA provisionally suspended their boycott for the 2026–27 season, which included the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.
See also 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
Notes
References
External links