The 2015 FIFA Under 20 World Cup will be the twentieth time the competition has been played. The first Under 20 World Cup was held back in 1977 and was then know as the FIFA Youth Tournament. The title of the tournament was changed in 2005 and is played every two years. This year the tournament will be hosted by New Zealand.
First held in Tunisia, the most successful country in the history of the Under 20 World Cup is Argentina, who has six titles to their name. They are closely followed by Brazil, who currently sit on five wins and could equal Argentina’s record if victorious in New Zealand. Outside of the South American countries, the next most successful country is Portugal, highlighting how dominant both Argentina and Brazil have been in this competition.
Despite Argentina’s and Brazil’s great success in this competition, the current holders of the title are France. The French team defeated Uruguay on penalties and in doing so became the first European team to win the tournament since Spain back in 1999. The talented French squad in that tournament included the likes of Paul Pogba, Kurt Zouma, Florian Thauvin, Yaya Sonogo and Geoffrey Kondogbia, all of whom are now playing for top European teams. In fact, it was Pogba who went on to win the Golden Ball award for player of the tournament.
【France and Pogba’s Performance in the 2013 FIFA U-20 Final】
Despite France being the title holders, due to the qualifying process, they will not be able to defend their title. The French became the fourth team in succession to fail to qualify for the following tournament having won the previous edition. Although France will be missing, there are an array of fantastic teams making the trip to New Zealand this summer for what should be a tremendous event. A total of seven different stadia will be used and the tournament will be held from May 30th to June 20th. Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington and Whangarei will all host matches.
The 24 qualifying teams have been drawn in six different groups. Each team will play every other team in their group once and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the round of 16. The best four third placed teams will also progress. The round of 16 format is straight knock-out, with extra-time and penalties if matches are drawn after 90 minutes.
As hosts, New Zealand automatically qualified for the 2015 FIFA Under 20 World Cup and have been placed in Group A along with the United States, Ukraine and Myanmar. New Zealand will have the backing of the home crowd but with attendance figuring to be not as high as they would be for other events in the country, this could have little impact on their matches. The Kiwis have the experience of playing in the previous three Under 20 World Cups but have yet to win a single match.
Ukraine arrives at the tournament having qualified as the fifth best placed team out of the six to arrive from Europe. Unlikely to trouble the latter stages of the tournament, Ukraine’s best performance to date has been their previous two Under 20 World Cups with a round of 16 place.
With Myanmar participating in their first Under 20 World Cup, they could prove to be a surprise package having made the semi-finals of the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship. However, it’s the United States who are slight favorites to progress from Group A along with Ukraine and the Americans will be aiming to make the knock-out stages for the first time since 2007. Sportsbook Paddy Power offers odds at 25/1 for the United States to win the tournament
【2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup Outright Winner Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 29, 2:00 a.m. (GMT)
The other five groups’ draws are as follows:
Group B is home to the most successful team in the history of the tournament, Argentina, who are just 7/2 with bookmaker Paddy Power to win the tournament for the seventh time. Winners of the CONMEBOL Under 20 Championship, Argentina should have little problem progressing as group winners with Ghana, Austria and Panama completing their group. From the remaining three teams, 2009 winners Ghana, who also finished third in 2013, should progress to the knock-out stages in second place.
【Argentina Defeating Colombia in the Final of the CONMEBOL U-20 Championship】
Moving on to Group C and this could be a tough one to call with Qatar having the potential to cause a major upset. Featuring a number of players from the ASPIRE Academy, Qatar could make it to the knock-out stages although it’s unlikely they will progress beyond the quarter-finals. Colombia, who finished runners-up in the CONMEBOL Under 20 Championship, are undefeated in five games and are joined by UEFA qualifying runners-up Portugal. Completing the group is another national championship runner-up, Senegal, which highlights what a tough group this is to call.
Group D also has the potential to be a tight affair with 2013 runners-up Uruguay meeting the CONCACAF Under 20 winners Mexico plus strong Serbia and Mali teams. Serbia only lost as a result of a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals of the UEFA qualifying tournament and Mali qualified in much the same way having lost a semi-final match in the CAF Under 20 Championship.
【Mexico Winning the CONCACAF U-20 Championship】
The winners of the CAF Under 20 Championship were Nigeria and they find themselves in Group E along with Brazil, North Korea and Hungary. With both Brazil and Nigeria likely to qualify from the group, Hungary’s path to the last 16 may have to come via a best third placed position.
【Nigeria winning the CAF U-20 Championship】
Finally, Group F features Germany, who is sending the same team to the Under 20 World Cup that won the UEFA Under 19 Championship. Honduras, who finished second in their CONCACAF Under 20 Championship group to Mexico, certainly has the ability to progress from the group but will not trouble many teams during the knock-out stages if they can advance that far. Uzbekistan reached the quarter-finals of the 2013 Under 20 World Cup but that is unlikely to be repeated this time around as they could face group stage elimination along with debutante Fiji.
【Germany Winning the UEFA U-19 Championship】
There are a number of contenders for the 2015 FIFA Under 20 World Cup, however, one team stands out above the rest and that team is Germany, who are 7/2 with bookie Paddy Power. Having failed to make the final of this event since 1987, the Germans will feel as though they have something to prove in New Zealand especially having tasted success at the 2014 World Cup. Boasting a squad featuring players from a host of Bundesliga teams plus players who are playing regularly, Germany has a team capable of going all the way and lifting the 2015 FIFA Under 20 World Cup.
【2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup Opening Match Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 29, 2:00 a.m. (GMT)
