USA OPENS 2026 FIFA U-20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP AGAINST UEFA U-19 SEMIFINALISTS ITALY: The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team opens the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on Sunday, Sept. 6 – the second match day of the tournament – against Italy, which fell 2-0 in the semifinals of the 2025 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship to eventual European champion Spain. With UEFA getting four berths to this World Cup, plus host Poland, the semifinal finish was enough to earn Italy a spot in this World Cup. The match will be played at Stadion Miejski LKS in Lodz, Poland, with a Noon ET kick-off on Fox Sports Plus (FSP). The USA Group D opponents also include long-time women’s youth power Japan as well as New Zealand. The USA will take on the Young Nadeshiko on Sept. 9 (Noon ET on FS2) at Stadion Miejski LKS before finishing group play against the Junior Football Ferns on Sept. 12 at (9 a.m. ET on FS1) at Arena Sosnowiec in Sosnowiec, Poland. Fans can follow the U-20 WNT throughout the tournament on ussoccer.com, Facebook, Twitter/X (@USYNT) and Instagram (@USYNT).
| Date | Match | Kickoff (ET) | Venue; City | Broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 6 | USA vs. Italy | Noon | Stadion Miejski LKS; Lodz, Poland | FSP |
| Sept. 9 | USA vs. Japan | Noon | Stadion Miejski LKS; Lodz, Poland | FS2 |
| Sept. 12 | USA vs. New Zealand | 9 a.m. | Arena Sosnowiec; Sosnowiec, Poland | FS1 |
Goalkeepers (3): Caroline Birkel (Stanford; St. Louis, Mo.; 6), Evan O'Steen (Seattle Reign FC; Grapevine, Texas; 2), Kealey Titmuss (Penn State; Grand Blanc, Mich.; 5)
Defenders (7): Aven Alvarez (UNC; New Hill, N.C.; 12/0), Ella Bard (Louisville; Wadsworth, Ohio; 6/0), Lizzie Boamah (Stanford; San Diego, Calif.; 6/0), Pearl Cecil (Virginia; Encinitas, Calif.; 2/0), Emma Johnson (Penn State; Greenfield, Ind.; 9/1), Hope Munson (UNC; Holladay, Utah; 6/0), Katie Scott (Kansas City Current; Fairview, Pa.; 11/1)
Midfielders (6): Kennedy Fuller (Bay FC; Southlake, Texas; 8/2), Lily Joseph (Notre Dame; Hamden, Conn; 2/0), Ainsley McCammon (Seattle Reign FC; Bedford, Texas; 6/0), Y-Lan Nguyen (Stanford; Fairfax, Va.; 5/0), Nyanya Touray (Florida State; Silver Spring, Md.; 4/0), Linda Ullmark (Houston Dash; Buffalo, N.Y.; 7/6)
Forwards (5): Emeri Adames (Seattle Reign FC; Red Oak, Texas; 17/2), Alex Buck (Washington; Medina, Wash.; 6/1), Micayla Johnson (Chicago Stars FC; Troy, Mich; 4/2), Audrey McKeen (Racing Louisville FC; Vienna, Va.; 2/0), Sealey Strawn (UNC; Prosper, Texas; 2/0)
WATCH FIFA U-20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP ON FOX: All of the USA’s group stage matches will be broadcast live on the FOX family of networks. Each of the 52 matches of the tournament will be broadcast on either FOXSoccer Plus, FS1 or FS2, with 30 matches on FSP (22 group stage, eight knockout), two matches on FS1 (one group stage, one quarterfinal) and 20 on FS2 (13 group stage, seven knockout). All the games will be available online at FOXsports.com and the FOX Sports App with corresponding authentication. The U.S. games will be shown in Spanish in the USA as well with USA vs. Italy on Universo and Peacock and the final two games will be shown on Peacock and the Telemundo Deportes Ahora FAST Channel.
RUN-UP TO POLAND: In this decade, with more and more professional players being a part of the U-20 WNT program, preparation for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup has proved a bit more difficult, due to the challenge of bringing the top pool of players together on a consistent basis. Still, the USA has had a solid preparation schedule leading into this World Cup, compiling a record of 6W-2L-2D over 2025 and 2026, with eight of those matches coming against teams that will also participate in this World Cup (with the caveat that two matches were against the France U-23 side). The fact that just eight of the 21 players on this roster were a part of the roster for Concacaf qualifying shows how things can change in the pool over a year or more for players at this age group. Over the preparation matches, the USA scored 26 goals and allowed six against eight different countries: Guyana, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Canada in Concacaf qualifying and then World Cup preparation matches against Brazil, France U-23, England and Colombia.
THE USWNT IN POLAND –A FIRST: At this U-20 Women’s World Cup, the U.S. U-20 WNT will play its first-ever matches in Poland, and in fact, these will be the first-ever matches by any U.S. Women’s National Team in the country. The senior USWNT has played Poland just one time, but that match took place in Sardinia, Italy, in 1989, a 0-0 draw. The match gave Poland a very unique distinction: Poland is one of just two countries in the world that do not have a losing record against the USWNT. With the other country being Czechoslovakia (also one match played, also a 0-0 draw), a country that no longer exists, Poland is the last remaining country on earth that does not have an all-time losing record to the U.S. Women. The U.S. U-23 WNT did play the Poland U-19 WNT in 2016, but that match was played in Croatia. Amazingly, that game ended in a 0-0 draw as well, despite the USA outshooting Poland, 25-0.
THE U.S. ROSTER– PROS LEAD THE WAY: Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2006, are age-eligible for this World Cup, and for just the third time, a U.S. roster at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will feature professional players. This roster will tie a record for the most professional players on a U.S. FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Team with eight, the same as the U.S. roster featured in 2024. The big difference is that all eight on the 2024 team were in their rookie year in the NWSL. This time around, just three players – Evan O’Steen of Seattle Reign FC, Linda Ullmark of the Houston Dash and Audrey McKeen of Racing Louisville FC -- are rookies. With the exception of Ullmark, who played two seasons at North Carolina and scored 13 goals in 48 matches for the Tar Heels, and Katie Scott, who played part of one season at Penn State, the other six pros opted out of college soccer. Aside from Ullmark, all signed professional contracts as high school-aged players via the NWSL Under-18 Entry Mechanism.
ROSTER BUILDING: Just eight players on the World Cup roster (38%) were also on the roster for the 2025 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, meaning 13 players who didn’t play in qualifying will feature in this World Cup. The eight players who made the World Cup roster who were a part of the Concacaf qualifying team are goalkeepers Caroline Birkel from Stanford and Kealey Titmuss from Penn State, defenders Aven Alvarez from UNC, Emma Johnson from Penn State and Katie Scott from the Kansas City Current, Houston Dash midfielder Linda Ullmark, Bay FC midfielder Kennedy Fuller and UNC forward Sealey Strawn. More significantly, 10 players on the roster have represented the USA at a FIFA U-17 WWC and/or a FIFA U-20 WWC, meaning the USA carries some significant big tournament experience into this event.
2026 U.S. U-20 WWC Roster – FIFA World Cup Experience:
2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India: Emeri Adames
2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia: Caroline Birkel, Emeri Adames
2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic: Evan O’Steen, Katie Scott, Kennedy Fuller, Ainsley McCammon, Y-Lan Nguyen, Micayla Johnson.
2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco: Evan O’Steen, Pearl Cecil, Nyanya Touray, Micyala Johnson.
Thus, the 2026 FIFA U-20 WWC will be the third FIFA World Cup for Adames, Johnson and O’Steen and the second for Birkel, Scott, Fuller, McCammon, Cecil, Nguyen and Touray.
NOTES FROM PAST YOUTH WORLD CUPS: Evan O’Steen played in three of the four matches at the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Pearl Cecil played every minute of each of the four games, captaining the USA in three of them, and Nyanya Touray was the team’s leading scorer with four goals. She scored in all three group games, tallying against Ecuador, China PR (twice) and Norway.
Micayla Johnson scored twice at last year’s U-17 WWC, including a world class strike from distance against the Netherlands in the Round of 16 match that the USA eventually lost in penalty kicks after dominating proceedings during the first 90 minutes. Johnson, who also scored in the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, became the first U.S. player to score in two FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup tournaments and will be looking to tally in her third consecutive FIFA event.
At the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, Evan O’Steen played in five of the six matches and won the Golden Glove as the tournament’s best goalkeeper. Kennedy Fuller won the Silver Boot as the second leading scorer in the tournament with four goals and three assists. Fuller and Ainsley McCammon split captaining duties in that World Cup, each wearing the armband in three matches.
At the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia, where the USA finished third in the world, Birkel was a back-up on that team and did not play. Adames started all seven matches in that tournament and had a team-leading four assists.
ROSTER NOTES
JEPSON AT THE HELM: This will be the first World Cup for U.S. head coach Vicky Jepson, who came to U.S. Soccer after spending four seasons as the senior assistant head coach with Tottenham Hotspur in the England Women’s Super League. Jepson previously served as manager of Liverpool FC Women in the WSL and has also worked at the youth international level, where she served as a coach educator with the English FA and coached the England U-17 Women’s National Team, guiding the team through qualifiers and at the UEFA Women’s U-17 Euros.
24 TEAMS VIE FOR 12th U-20 TITLE: This year marks the 12th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA’s most high-profile women’s competition after the World Cup and the Olympic Games. The biennial competition began as the FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in 2002 and was held as a U-19 event in 2004 before moving to its current Under-20 format in 2006. The 24 participating nations for the 2026 edition of the tournament were drawn into six groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group and the four best third-place finishers will advance to the Round of 16 taking place on Sept. 16 and 17. The quarterfinals will all be played on Sept. 19 and 20 with the semifinals being contested on Wednesday, Sept. 23. The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Final will be held on Sunday, Feb. 27 and the Third-Place Match will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26. This is the second time the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will feature Round of 16 matches. With three-time champions Germany remarkably having failed to qualify for this tournament, the USA is one of three teams to have qualified for every FIFA WWC at this age level, along with Brazil and Nigeria.
THE VENUES: The 52 matches of this tournament will take place at four stadiums and in four cities spanning three metropolitan areas: Arena Katowice in Katowice (15,500 capacity), Stadion Miejski Bielsko-Biala in Bielsko-Biala (14,963), Stadion Miejski LKS Lodz in Lodz (18,029) and Arena Sosnowiec in Sosnowiec (11,600). Katowice and Sosnowiec are adjacent cities in southern Poland. Lodz is in central Poland while Bielsko-Biala is 40 miles south of Katowice and Sosnowiec.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poland | Brazil | France | Japan | Korea DPR | Spain |
| Argentina | Tanzania | Korea Republic | New Zealand | Portugal | Nigeria |
| Mexico | Canada | Ecuador | USA | Costa Rica | New Caledonia |
| Benin | England | Ghana | Italy | Colombia | China PR |
HOW WE GOT HERE: CONCACAF QUALIFYING IN COSTA RICA: The USA qualified for the 2026 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup at the 2025 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship in Costa Rica. The USA handily won its group, defeating Guyana, 8-0, Puerto Rico, 3-1, and Costa Rica, 4-0, to earn a berth to the semifinals and the World Cup berth that went it. Surprisingly, the USA was upset by Canada, 1-0, in the semifinals, ending their tournament, but the World Cup berth was already secured. Just eight (38%) of the 21 players who played at 2025 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship made this World Cup roster, meaning 13 players who didn’t play in qualifying will be in Poland. The players on the World Cup team who scored during qualifying are Kennedy Fuller and Linda Ullmark with two goals each, and Emma Johnson, Katie Scott and Sealey Strawn, who all had one goal each.
HISTORY OF SUCCESS AT THE U-20 WWC: The USA has qualified for every edition of the U-20 WWC and has won three of the 11 previous tournaments, compiling a 36W-11L-10D overall record. At the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women’s Championship in 2002, the USA took home the title by defeating host Canada 1-0 on a golden goal in overtime from future WNT star Lindsay Tarpley in front of nearly 50,000 fans.
In 2008, future WNT stars Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan helped lead the USA to the tournament title, scoring in the championship match against North Korea. The U.S. won the 2012 tournament, downing three group winners in the knockout rounds en route to the trophy as future National Team stars and World Cup winners Crystal Dunn, Morgan Gautrat (formerly Brian), Julie Ertz (formerly Johnston) and Samantha Mewis played major roles.
Heartbreakingly, the USA has been knocked out of the tournament in penalty kicks in 2006, 2010 and 2014. The U-20s have lost just 10 games in regulation in the previous 11 tournaments, including three defeats to Germany, three to Japan and one each to Korea DRP, Spain, Netherlands and China PR. The USA also lost a game in overtime to Korea DPR. In addition to three tourney titles and three PK exits, the USA finished third in 2004 and 2024, and fourth in 2006 and 2016, giving the USA seven top four finishes in the 11 tournaments.
U.S. U-20 WNT A SPRINGBOARD TO SENIOR WNT: The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup has been a launching point for many players who have gone on to represent the full USWNT and many more who have played professionally. In fact, 62 different players who have played in a FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup for the USA have gone on to earn at least one cap for the senior side (although several players played in multiple youth World Cups). From the USA’s 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup Team, Alyssa Thompson made the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team and Korbin Albert (now Shrader) and Jaedyn Shaw made the 2024 Olympic Team, with Albert scoring the game-winning goal vs. Australia in group play and assisting on the game-winning goal in the gold medal match. From the 2024 FIFA U-20 WWC Team, six players have already earned caps with the USWNT: Jordyn Bugg (who was age-eligible for this tournament), Gisele Thompson, Claire Hutton (also age-eligible for this tournament), Riley Jackson, Maddie Dahlien and Ally Sentnor.
From 2002-2024, an average of 5.6 players per U.S. U-20 World Cup Team have gone on to represent the full USWNT, which represents about 25% of each roster.
From the USA’s 2022 FIFA U-20 WWC Team, Shrader, Michelle Cooper, Sally Menti (who did not play in the tournament due to injury), Olivia Moultrie, Ayo Oke, Lilly Reale, Ally Sentnor, Jaedyn Shaw and Alyssa Thompsonwent on to earn USWNT caps.
USWNT players Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, Jaelin Howell, Ashley Sanchez, Savanah DeMelo, Mandy McGlynn, Tara McKeown (now Rudd) and Sophia Smith (now Wilson) played for the USA at the 2018 U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
Mallory Swanson (formerly Pugh) captained the USA in 2016 in Papua New Guinea, a squad that also featured future USWNT players Casey Murphy, DeMelo, Fox and Sanchez.
In 2014, Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan (now Heaps), Mallory Pugh (now Swanson), Margaret Purce, Andi Sullivan and Jane Campbell were on the World Cup Team.
FIFA World Cup champions Morgan Gautrat, Crystal Dunn, Julie Johnston (now Ertz) and Samantha Mewis helped the U-20s lift the trophy in 2012, while Alyssa Naeher backstopped Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan’s 2008 team to the championship.
Tobin Heath, Kelley O’Hara and Amy Rodriguez appeared at the 2006 tournament in Russia, while Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Rodriguez also represented the U-20s in 2004 in Thailand.
Lori Chalupny, Heather O’Reilly, Lindsey Tarpley, Leslie Osborne, Ashlyn Harris and Rachel Buehler were among a record 12 future WNT players who helped the USA lift the first tournament trophy in 2002.
U.S. U-20 WNT vs. Italy:
U.S. U-20 WNT vs. Japan:
U.S. U-20 WNT vs. New Zealand:
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Elena Belli (Inter Milan), 12-Lavinia Tornaghi (AC Milan), 21-Erica Di Nallo (Vicenza WFC)
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Lidia Consolini (Inter Milan), 3-Caterina Venturelli (Sassuolo), 4-Martina Cocino (FC Aarau, SUI), 5-Azzurra Gallo (Toulouse FC, FRA), 13-Martina Tosello (AC Cesena), 15-Emma Lombardi (ACF Fiorentina), 16-Martina Bressan (Inter Milan)
MIDFIELDERS (5): 6-Maya Cherubini (Fiorentina), 14-Sofia Testa (Ternana Calcio), 17-Marta Zamboni (FC Como), 18-Giada Catena (RES Donna Roma), 8-Paola Fadda (Sassuolo)
FORWARDS (6): 7-Giulia Galli (AS Roma), 9-Rosanna Ventriglia (Ternana Calcio), 10-Giada Pellegrino Cimò (AS Roma), 11-Karen Appiah (AC Cesena), 19-Manuela Sciabica (Lazio), 20-Gabriella Langella (SSC Napoli)
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Uruha Iwasaki (Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara), 12-Hinaha Ishida (Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina), 21-Sako Nawa (Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Ladies)
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Yuna Aoki (Tokyo Verdy Beleza), 3-Tamami Aso (Tokyo Verdy Beleza), 4-Mitsuki Ota (INAC Kobe Leonessa), 15-Haruko Suzuki (Nittaidai FC Yokohama), 16-Hibari Hara (Chifure AS Elfen Saitama), 17-Momoka Sano (JFA Academy Fukushima), 18-Mone Sato (RB Ōmiya Ardija)
MIDFIELDERS (9): 5-Yura Honda (Nittaidai FC Yokohama), 6-Asako Furuta (Tezukayama Gakuin University), 7-Miyu Matsunaga (Tokyo Verdy Beleza), 8-Rinka Higuchi (Chifure AS Elfen Saitama), 10-Mao Itamura (Liverpool FC, ENG), 13-Noa Fukushima (JFA Academy Fukushima), 14-Miharu Shinjo (Tokyo Verdy Beleza), 19-Yuka Kurimoto (Tsukuba University), 20-Konoha Nakamura (Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Ladies)
FORWARDS (2): 9-Natsumi Tago (Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Ladies), 11-Anon Tsuda (Mynavi Sendai Ladies)
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Brooke Neary (Wellington Phoenix FC), 12-Scarlett Gray (Central Coast Mariners FC, AUS), 21-Nienke Holland (AZ Alkmaar, NED)
DEFENDERS (5): 3-Mackenzie Greene (Wellington Phoenix FC), 4-Charli Dunn (Middle Tennessee State, USA), 5-Alyssha Eglinton (Wellington Phoenix FC), 13-Freya Des Fountain (Wellington Phoenix FC), 15-Charley March (Auckland United FC)
MIDFIELDERS (8): 2-Penny Brill (Xavier University, USA), 6-Daisy Brazendale (Wellington Phoenix FC), 7-Grace Bartlett (Auckland United FC), 8-Charlotte Mortlock (Northern Tigers FC, AUS), 10-Zoe Benson (Wellington Phoenix FC), 14-Mikaela Bangalan (Wellington Phoenix FC), 16-Amber De Wit (North Dakota State, USA), 17-Grace Duncan (University of Washington)
FORWARDS (5): 9-Pia Vlok (Wellington Phoenix FC), 11-Emily Lyon (West Coast Rangers FC), 18-Poppy O'Brien (Wellington Phoenix FC), 19-Lily Brazendale (Wellington Phoenix FC), 20-Laura Bennett (Melville United AFC)
VIDEO SUPPORT GIVES WAY TO VAR FOR THE U-20s: After a new system to review decisions on goals, penalty kicks, red card incidents and cases of mistaken identity was unveiled during the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA has transitioned to use the full Video Assistant Referee for this tournament. While Video Assistant Referee automatically checks incidents/decisions, nothing was automatically checked by a Video Support. Instead, each head coach had two chances to request a review, e.g. “challenge” the call, in any of the above instances should they choose to do so. In this tournament, that onus will be back on the referees with VAR in full use.
TOURNAMENT REGS