The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup begins in Poland on Sept. 5 as the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team looks to return to the podium after finishing third at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia.
As head coach Vicky Jepson’s side prepares to open group stage play this Sunday, here’s everything you need to know about this year’s competition:
When and where is the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup?
The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will take place in Poland from Sept. 5-27.
The group stage begins on Sept. 5 and runs through Sept. 13. From there, the knockout rounds begin with the Round of 16 on Sept. 16 and 17. The Quarterfinals will be on Sept. 19 and 20 ahead of the Semifinals onSept. 23. The Third-Place Match will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, with the Final concluding the tournament on Sunday, Feb. 27.
Four cities and venues across Poland will host the 52 matches of this U-20 WWC: 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).
Who does the U.S. play in the group stage?
On May 15, the U-20 WNT was drawn into Group D at the final draw at the EC1 Cultural Center in Lodz, Poland. The 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four, and the three other nations in Group D with the United States are Italy, Japan and New Zealand. The USA will play each team once within a span of a week.
2026 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup
Group D – USA Schedule
| 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 |
This is Italy’s third appearance in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, having exited in the group stage in 2004 and 2012. The team earned a berth to the tournament after reaching the semifinals of the 2025 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. Japan has been a part of nine of the 12 FIFA U-20 WWC contests and has failed to advance out of group play just once. The Young Nadeshiko have finished no lower than third in the past five tournaments in which it has played. New Zealand won the 2025 OFC U-19 Women's Championship to reach its 10th consecutive FIFA tournament at this age level.
The U.S. has never played Italy or New Zealand at this tournament, but it will be looking for its first win against Japan after going 0W-2L-1D in the last three FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cups.
How do teams advance to the knockout rounds?
The top two finishers in each group and the four best third-place finishers will advance to the Round of 16. This is just the second time the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will feature Round of 16 matches after expanding from 16 to 24 teams in 2024.
2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Groups
| 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 |
What is the USA’s history at this tournament?
The U.S. has qualified for every edition of the U-20 Women’s World Cup and has won three of the 11 previous tournaments (2002, 2008, 2012), compiling a 36W-11L-10D overall record. The team took home bronze in 2004 and 2024 and finished in fourth place in 2006 and 2016, giving the USA seven top-four finishes in the 11 tournaments.
Historically, this tournament has been a launching point for many players who have gone on to represent the full USWNT. 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 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.
View this year’s roster here.
How can fans follow along during the tournament?
All 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 streaming also 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 on Peacock and the Telemundo Deportes Ahora FAST Channel.
Fans can also follow the U-20 WNT throughout the tournament on USSoccer.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.
