Have England ever won men's FIFA U20 World Cup? History of national football team in international youth tournament

Feargal Brennan

Have England ever won men's FIFA U20 World Cup? History of national football team in international youth tournament image

England's young stars will be looking to secure a major trophy this summer as Ian Foster's side head to the FIFA U20 World Cup in Argentina.

The Young Lions have been placed in Group E at the tournament alongside Uruguay, Iraq and Tunisia.

If Foster can steer his team out of the group stage and into the knockout phase, they are likely to face some tricky tests on the road to a potential final in La Plata.

Italy, Brazil and France are among the possible opponents in the round of 16 and England will need to be at their best to ensure progress.

MORE: FIFA U20 World Cup schedule 2023, group fixtures, match times, and results as they happen from Argentina

Have England won the U20 World Cup?

Since the inaugural FIFA U20 World Cup in 1977, England have won one title, coming in 2017 under the guidance of Paul Simpson.

Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the star player in Simpson's side, securing the Golden Ball award and scoring the winner in the 1-0 final victory over Venezuela in South Korea.

Success in 2017 broke a long streak of poor performances for England at the U20 World Cup, with the Young Lions only reaching the knockout stages on four previous occasions.

England U20 World Cup record

Argentina and Brazil have dominated the tournament's history with six and five title wins respectively from 22 competitions.

England's U20 World Cup record
Year Stage Reached Win  Loss Draw Goals Scored Goal Difference Top Scorer
1977 DNQ*
1979 DNQ
1981 Semifinals/4th 2 0 4 9 +2 Mike Small/Neil Webb (3)
1983 DNQ
1985 Group Stage 0 2 1 2 -3 Robert Wakenshaw/Phillip Priest (1)
1987 DNQ
1989 DNQ
1991 Group Stage 0 1 2 3 -1 Andrew Awford (2)
1993 Semifinals/3rd 3 2 1 6 +2 Julian Joachim (2)
1995 DNQ
1997 Round of 16 3 1 0 9 +6 Michael Owen/Danny Murphy (3)
1999 Group Stage 0 0 0 0 -4
2001 DNQ
2003 Group Stage 0 2 1 0 -2
2005 DNQ
2007 DNQ
2009 Group Stage 0 2 1 1 -5 Alex Nimely (1)
2011 Round of 16 0 1 3 0 -1
2013 Group Stage 0 1 2 3 -2 Conor Coady, Luke Williams, Harry Kane (1)
2015 DNQ
2017 Winners 6 0 1 12 -9 Dominic Solanke (4)
2019 DNQ
2021 Cancelled - Covid 19

*DNQ denotes did not qualify for the U20 FIFA World Cup

Feargal Brennan

Feargal Brennan Photo

Feargal is a content producer for The Sporting News. He has been working with TSN since the start of 2022 after stints with Reach, Amazon UK and Squawka in a nomadic career in the football media pyramid. Always with a keen eye on Arteta's 'Reds' and Kenny's Ireland 'Greens' and a 100% five-a-side penalty record.