After Indonesia was expelled from the organization, the South American country is hosting the youth competition after 22 years. The draw on Friday.
The 2023 U-20 World Cup continues to search for a new champion in the category. The ball started rolling in Argentina, the venue designated after FIFA decided that the tournament would not take place in Indonesia as stipulated. On Monday, April 17, the highest body unanimously approved that the South American country will host the 23rd edition of the youth competition.
The tournament had its qualifiers for a long time, although the Albiceleste entered “through the window”, as they were the new venue they got the benefit of qualifier by place. The opening game was played between Guatemala and New Zealand on May 20 and the 24 teams will try to get into the grand final, which will be played on June 11.
WHY HAS THE 2023 U-20 WORLD CUP HEADQUARTERS CHANGED
Through an official statement issued on Sunday, March 26, the Indonesian Federation (PSSI) announced the cancellation of the draw scheduled for Friday the 31st and assured that it had not yet received “official reasoning from FIFA” for making that decision. . However, the text itself speculates that the reasons are due to the fact that the governor of the province of Bali (one of the venues for the match and where the draw ceremony was to take place) denied Israel’s presence at the World Cup, stating that “it is the same as canceling the implementation of the guarantees issued by the Provincial Government of Bali itself” for the tournament dispute.
Indonesia, the most Muslim country in the world, maintains a tense diplomatic relationship with Israel, which does not formally recognize it as a state. place in the country to boycott its presence. In addition, both the local team and Iraq have taken steps to avoid being placed in the same group as the Asian team that belongs to UEFA from a sporting point of view (precisely because of those tensions that have nothing to do with sports and that make it impossible for them to to participate in UEFA tournaments).AFC).
From Zurich, meanwhile, they have not released any further details about the decision: the statement issued on Wednesday, March 29 briefly stated that “FIFA has decided to withdraw Indonesia as a host country due to the current circumstances”, without clarifying what it is referring to. . In any case, the text makes it clear that “possible sanctions for the PSSI will be determined later”, so everything points to the reasons being directly related to the problem with Israel.
WHY THE 2023 U-20 WORLD CUP WILL BE PLAYED IN ARGENTINA
In the statement removing Indonesia from the tournament, FIFA said that “the new host country will be announced as soon as possible”. And fast Argentina he was leading as the only candidate to remain at headquarters. The leaders of the South American country, which already hosted the tournament in 2001, took action as soon as the decision to cancel the event in Asia was confirmed and submitted a proposal with the support of the national government.
“Today, Argentina’s candidacy is the only one that has been presented formally and with statements of support. We will make the decision in the next two or three days. We all know Argentine football and we know that it can organize a competition of this level. very good possibilities, but you have to follow the process,” Gianni Infantino announced on Thursday, March 30 at a press conference at CONMEBOL headquarters. Just over two weeks later, on Monday, April 17, a few hours after all required guarantees were signed with the Argentine Ministry of Economy, the official announcement came through a statement: “FIFA is pleased to announce that the 2023 U-20 World Cup will take place in Argentina this year, so the country of the reigning world champions will open its doors to tomorrow’s great world football stars.”
The new organizer wants the event to serve as a springboard for the candidacy for the 2030 World Cup that he presented together with Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay. Besides, he will additionally enter the competition through the window after failing to qualify in the South America at the beginning of the year.
WhatWHEN WILL THE U-20 WORLD CUP 2023 BE PLAYED?
Following the venue change, FIFA confirmed that the tournament will keep its original dates. In this way the competition It starts on Saturday, May 20 and ends on Sunday, June 11, 2023.
HEADQUARTERS
There are four stadiums where the matches are played:
- Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium (La Plata)
- San Juan del Bicentennial Stadium (San Juan)
- Malvinas Argentinas Stadium (Mendoza)
- Unique Mother of Cities Stadium (Santiago del Estero)
REVIEWED SELECTIONS
24 teams will participate in the U-20 World Cup. 23 agreed by contesting the qualifications of the various continental confederations, while Argentina will participate as the host country, replacing Indonesia.
Asia:
- Iraq
- Uzbekistan
- South Korea
- Japan
Africa
- Senegal
- Niger
- Gambia
- Tunisia
Europe
- France
- Italy
- England
- Israel
- Slovakia
South America
- Argentina (organizer)
- Brazil
- Uruguay
- Ecuador
- Colombia
Central and North America
- USA
- Honduras
- Dominican Republic
- Guatemala
Oceania
GROUPS
The groups met during the draw that will take place in Zurich on Friday, April 21.
GROUP A
B GROUP
GROUP C
GROUP D
GROUP E
GROUP F
MATCHES AND RESULTS
*All matches are in Argentina time.
GROUP PHASE
Saturday May 20
Argentina 2-1 Uzbekistan | Unique Mother of Cities Stadium, Santiago del Estero
Guatemala 0-1 New Zealand | Unique Mother of Cities Stadium, Santiago del Estero
United States 1-0 Ecuador | Bicentennial Stadium, San Juan
Fiji 0-4 Slovakia | Bicentennial Stadium, San Juan
Sunday May 21
Israel 1-2 Colombia | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
Senegal 0-1 Japan | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
Nigeria 2-1 Dominican Republic | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Italy 3-2 Brazil | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Monday May 22
England 1-0 Tunisia | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
Uruguay 4-0 Iraq | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
France 1-2 South Korea | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Gambia 2-1 Honduras | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Tuesday May 23
Uzbekistan 2-2 New Zealand | Unique Mother of Cities Stadium, Santiago del Estero
Argentina 3-0 Guatemala | Unique Mother of Cities Stadium, Santiago del Estero
United States 3-0 Fiji | Bicentennial Stadium, San Juan
Ecuador 2-1 Slovakia | Bicentennial Stadium, San Juan
Wednesday, May 24
Senegal 1-1 Israel | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
Japan 1-2 Colombia | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
Italy 0-2 Nigeria | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Brazil 6-0 Dominican Republic | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Thursday, May 25
Uruguay 2-3 England | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
Iraq 0-3 Tunisia | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
France 1-2 Gambia | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Korea 2-2 Honduras | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Friday May 26
Ecuador 9-0 Fiji | Unique Mother of Cities Stadium, Santiago del Estero
Slovakia 0-2 United States | Bicentennial Stadium, San Juan
Uzbekistan 2-0 Guatemala | Unique Mother of Cities Stadium, Santiago del Estero
New Zealand 0-5 Argentina | Bicentennial Stadium, San Juan
Saturday May 27
Brazil 2-0 Nigeria | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
Dominican Rep. 0-3 Italy | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Colombia 1-1 Senegal | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
Japan 1-2 Israel | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Sunday May 28
Iraq vs. England | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
Tunisia 0-1 Uruguay | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
South Korea 0-0 Gambia | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Honduras 1-3 France | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
EIGHTH FINAL
Tuesday May 30
United States 4-0 New Zealand | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Uzbekistan 0-1 Israel | Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, Mendoza
Wednesday, May 31
Colombia 5-1 Slovakia | Bicentennial Stadium, San Juan
Brazil 4-1 Tunisia | Unique Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Plata
Argentina 0-2 Nigeria | Bicentennial Stadium, San Juan
England 1-2 Italy | Stadium Only Diego Armando Maradona, La Plata
Thursday June 1
Gambia 0-1 Uruguay | Unique Mother of Cities Stadium, Santiago del Estero
Ecuador 2-3 South Korea | Unique Mother of Cities Stadium, Santiago del Estero
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday June 3
2:30 pm | Israel vs. Brazil | Bicentennial Stadium, San Juan
6pm | Columbia vs. Italy | Bicentennial Stadium, San Juan
Sunday June 4
2:30 pm | South Korea vs. Nigerian | Unique Mother of Cities Stadium, Santiago del Estero
6pm | United States vs. Uruguay | Unique Mother of Cities Stadium, Santiago del Estero
Source: Goal

Gregory Robert is a sports aficionado and a writer for “Social Bites”. He provides in-depth coverage of the latest sporting events and trends, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the world of sports.