U.S. women ready for FIFA U-20 World Cup

The U.S. women’s U-20 team will be looking for its fourth World Cup title in the ninth edition of the FIFA women’s U-20 World Cup in France, beginning on Sunday (5th). The groups:

  • Group A: France, Ghana, New Zealand, Netherlands
  • Group B: DPR Korea, England, Mexico, Brazil
  • Group C: United States, Japan, Paraguay, Spain
  • Group D: China, Haiti, Nigeria, Germany

The group phase runs from 5-13 August, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinals on 16-17 August. The semis will be in Vannes on 20 August and the finals in Vannes on 24 August. The other host cities are Concarneau, Saint-Malo and Dinan-Lehon, all in the Brittany region.

North Korea is the defending champion, beating France, 3-1 in the final. The U.S. finished fourth, but has won this tournament in 2002-08-12, and was third in 2004 and fourth in 2006-16. Germany has also won three titles in this event, in 2004-10-14, and North Korea also won in 2006. Those are the only three countries to win in this event. The top seeds for 2018 are France, Germany, North Korea and Japan.

Television coverage of the tournament is on Fox (check FS1 and FS2) and Telemundo in the U.S. Look for results here.