FIFA U20 World Cup 2023: Which teams have qualified for men's tournament in Indonesia?

Kyle Bonn

FIFA U20 World Cup 2023: Which teams have qualified for men's tournament in Indonesia? image

The men's FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023 is on the horizon, a tournament that gives fans a closer look at the young talent ready to take the world by storm.

Players eligible to participate in the 2023 tournament have to be 20 years old or younger, born on or after January 1, 2003. Players must also be born on or before 31 December 2007 in order to participate.

While many of these players will be a few years away from superstardom by the time the tournament kicks off, they are definitely names to look out for in the future. The likes of Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, Sergio Aguero, and Adama Traore all won the Golden Ball for best player at past men's U-20 World Cups. Erling Haaland won the Golden Boot as top scorer of the most recent event in 2019.

The Sporting News brings you a closer look at the tournament, as well as which countries have secured passage to the upcoming tournament.

MORE: Which teams qualified to the men's 2022 FIFA World Cup?

When & where is the U-20 World Cup 2023?

According to the latest FIFA media release in June, the 2023 U-20 World Cup will take place from May 20 to June 11, 2023.

The tournament was slated to be held in Indonesia, the first FIFA tournament held in the country, and the second U-20 World Cup held in Southeast Asia since the 1997 edition was contested in Malaysia. However, in late March 2023, FIFA withdrew Indonesia's hosting rights.

The U-20 World Cup at the moment does not have a host, but reports indicate it will be held in Argentina. It's unclear whether Indonesia will be disqualified from the tournament, and whether the new host will earn a berth in the tournament if not already qualified. Argentina did not qualify directly through CONMEBOL qualification. 

The 2021 U-20 World Cup was cancelled due to COVID-19, which leaves Ukraine as the defending champions, having won the 2019 edition of the tournament with a 3-1 final victory over South Korea. But the Ukrainians will not be able to defend their title after failing to qualify to the UEFA Under-19 championship.

The most successful team in the history of the competition is Argentina, having won six times. Argentina last won the 2007 tournament in Canada, capping a stretch of five titles across seven tournaments.

How many teams are in the FIFA U20 World Cup 2023?

The men's 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, held every two years (the 2021 event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic), features 24 teams coming together to compete for the U-20 World Cup trophy.

The host nation Indonesia qualifies automatically. Here's how the other 23 tickets to the tournament are distributed around the world:

Region Confederation U-20 World Cup
Total Berths
Africa CAF 4
Asia AFC 4
Europe UEFA 5
North America CONCACAF 4
Oceania OFC 2
South America CONMEBOL 4

Each region will host a youth tournament which will determine the nations to qualify from that specific zone. For example, North America's confederation CONCACAF will hold its bi-annual Under-20 championship tournament in the summer of 2022, with the four semifinalists qualifying directly to the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The 24 nations that qualify to the 2023 tournament will be drawn into six groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group advance to the knockout stage, together with the four third-place teams with the most points. The Round of 16 kicks off a single-elimination bracket through to the final, much like the senior men's World Cup format.

FIFA U-20 World Cup trophy
Getty Images

Which teams have qualified for U20 World Cup 2023?

Indonesia qualified automatically as hosts of the men's 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and they've already been joined by nine other nations, including all five from Europe and all four from North America.

North America, Europe and Oceania are all held their continental championships in the summer of 2022 to determine those confederation's representatives, while South America, Asia, and Africa all saw their tournaments take place in the early part of 2023.

Russia has been banned due to the invasion of Ukraine, and was not eligible to participate in UEFA qualifying.

No. Region Nation Date qualified How qualified Total apps
(previous)
Best finish
1. Asia Indonesia Dec. 24, 2020 Tournament host 2 of 23 (1979) Group Stage (1979)
2. Europe Italy Jun. 21, 2022 UEFA U-19 semifinalist 8 of 23 (2019) 3rd Place (2017)
3. Europe France Jun. 21, 2022 UEFA U-19 semifinalist 8 of 23 (2019) Champions (2013)
4. Europe England Jun. 22, 2022 UEFA U-19 semifinalist 12 of 23 (2017) Champions (2017)
5. Europe Israel Jun. 25, 2022 UEFA U-19 semifinalist 1 of 23 (none)
6. Europe Slovakia Jun. 28, 2022 UEFA U-19 playoff winner 2 of 23 (2003) Rd of 16 (2003)
7. N. America USA Jun. 28, 2022 CONCACAF U-20 semifinalist 17 of 23 (2019) 4th Place (1989)
8. N. America Honduras Jun. 28, 2022 CONCACAF U-20 semifinalist 9 of 23 (2019) Group stage
9. N. America Dominican Rep. Jun. 29, 2022 CONCACAF U-20 semifinalist 1 of 23 (none)
10. N. America Guatemala Jun. 29, 2022 CONCACAF U-20 semifinalist 2 of 23 (2011) Rd of 16 (2011)
11. Oceania Fiji Sep. 21, 2022 OFC U-19 finalist 2 of 23 (2015) Group stage
12. Oceania New Zealand Sep. 21, 2022 OFC U-19 finalist 7 of 23 (2019) Rd of 16 (3x)
13. S. America Brazil Feb. 3, 2023 CONMEBOL U-20 top four 19 of 23 (2015) Champions (5x)
14. S. America Uruguay Feb. 3, 2023 CONMEBOL U-20 top four 16 of 23 (2019) Runners Up (2x)
15. S. America Colombia Feb. 9, 2023 CONMEBOL U-20 top four 11 of 23 (2019) Third place (2003)
16. S. America Ecuador Feb. 12, 2023 CONMEBOL U-20 top four 5 of 23 (2019) Third place (2019)
17. Africa Senegal Mar. 2, 2023 U-20 AFCON semifinalist 4 of 23 (2019) Fourth place (2015)
18. Africa Nigeria Mar. 2, 2023 U-20 AFCON semifinalist 13 of 23 (2019) Runners Up (2x)
19. Africa Gambia Mar. 3, 2023 U-20 AFCON semifinalist 2 of 23 (2007) Round of 16 (2007)
20. Africa Tunisia Mar. 3, 2023 U-20 AFCON semifinalist 3 of 23 (1985) Group Stage
21. Asia Uzbekistan Mar. 11, 2023 U-20 Asian Cup semifinalist 5 of 23 (2015) Quarterfinals (2013)
22. Asia Iraq Mar. 11, 2023 U-20 Asian Cup semifinalist 5 of 23 (2013) 4th place (2013)
23. Asia Japan Mar. 12, 2023 U-20 Asian Cup semifinalist 11 of 23 (2019) Runners Up (1999)
24. Asia South Korea Mar. 12, 2023 U-20 Asian Cup semifinalist 16 of 23 (2019) Runners Up (2019)

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.