The next generation of women’s footballers will announce themselves on the world stage this month when Poland hosts FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™ 2026.
The 12th edition of the tournament will run from 5-27 September and will feature 24 competing nations for just the second time, including OFC representation from both New Zealand and New Caledonia.
As the tournament prepares for kick-off, we’ve taken a closer look at the format, the venues, the history, and two teams carrying the flag for the Oceania region.
The format
The 24 competing teams have been split into six groups of four, all of whom have qualified through their continental competitions.
The top two in each group will progress to the Round of 16, whilst the four best third-placed sides will also qualify for the knockout stages. From there the competition will follow a knockout format through to the final on the 27th of September.
The venues
Four different stadiums have been chosen to host FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2026. They are Stadion LKS in Lodz, Arena Katowice in Katowice, Zaglebie Sports Park in Sosnowiec, and Stadion W Bielsku-Bialej in Bielsko-Biala.
Three of those four venues are in Southern Poland, whilst Stadion LKS in Lodz is located more centrally, and will host the two semi-finals and final.
New Zealand and New Caledonia will share their group stage matches between the cities of Lodz and Sosnowiec.
The History
Korea DPR arrive in Poland as the defending champions, having beaten Japan 1-0 in the final in Colombia in 2024. They are the competition’s joint-most successful nation with three titles, alongside both the USA and Germany.
Whilst Korea DPR and USA are returning; the 2026 edition is the first time Germany haven’t qualified for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Tournament hosts Poland will be making their debut at the event, along with five other nations, including New Caledonia.
Who is representing OFC?
As OFC U-19 Women’s Championship 2025 finalists, both New Zealand and New Caledonia will represent OFC at FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2026.
New Zealand will be making their 10th appearance at the competition but have won just five of 28 previous matches at the tournament and have been drawn in a tough group alongside the USA, Japan, and Italy in Poland. The only time they’ve progressed past the group stage was a quarter-final finish in 2014.
The Junior Football Ferns crashed out at the group stage in 2024, scoring two goals, but losing all three matches and conceding 13. Under the guidance of head coach Callum Holmes, they’ll be searching for their first win at the tournament since 2016.
Meanwhile, New Caledonia will be making history by appearing in a FIFA women’s competition for the first time, and have been drawn into a group with Spain, China, and Nigeria. Coached by Leon Waitronyie, they have had a concentrated build-up to the tournament and been able to provide most of their players with senior international exposure at the FIFA Series in Thailand earlier this year.
They will be just the fourth different nation to represent OFC at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, after Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.
Fixture Schedule
New Zealand
Japan v New Zealand | 1am NZT, Monday 7th September | Stadion LKS, Lodz
Italy v New Zealand | 1am NZT, Thursday 10th September | Stadion LKS, Lodz
New Zealand v USA | 1am NZT, Sunday 12th September | Zaglebie Sports Park, Sosnowiec
New Caledonia
New Caledonia v China | 12am NCT, Tuesday 8th September | Zaglebie Sports Park, Sosnowiec
Spain v New Caledonia | 12am NCT, Friday 11th September | Zaglebie Sports Park, Sosnowiec
Nigeria v New Caledonia | 12am NCT, Monday 14th September | Zaglebie Sports Park, Sosnowiec
How to Watch
All matches at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™ 2026 will be available to watch live and free on FIFA+ via DAZN.
Supporters can watch by signing in to DAZN with a FIFA ID. If you don’t already have one, you can create a FIFA ID during the sign-in process.