USA to Face New Caledonia, France and South Africa in Group E at 2025 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Chile
Marco Mitrovic’s Side Will Open World Cup on Sept. 29 Against New Caledonia
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ATLANTA (May 29, 2025) – The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team will face New Caledonia, France and South Africa in Group E at the 2025 FIFA Under-20 World Cup which will be staged from Sept. 27 to Oct. 19 in Chile. The Final Draw took place this evening at Chilevisión’s Machasa studios in Santiago.
The USA opens the World Cup on Sept. 29 against New Caledonia (5 p.m. ET), takes on France on Oct. 2 (5 p.m. ET) and wraps up the group stage Oct. 5 against South Africa (8 p.m. ET. All three group stage games will take place at Estadio El Teniente in Rancagua.
The 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup features 24 countries divided into six groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group, as well as the four best third-place teams advance to the Round of 16. From there, the tournament will feature a knockout bracket to the tournament final.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F |
| Chile | Korea Republic | Brazil | Italy | USA | Colombia |
| New Zealand | Ukraine | Mexico | Australia | New Caledonia | Saudi Arabia |
| Japan | Paraguay | Morocco | Cuba | France | Norway |
| Egypt | Panama | Spain | Argentina | South Africa | Nigeria |
The U.S. was drawn out of Pot 1 which also included hosts Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Italy and Korea Republic. Teams were placed into pots based on a ranking system determined by success in the last five FIFA U-20 World Cups, with more recent tournament results weighted more heavily, as well as performance in Confederation qualifying tournaments.
The 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup will be the 24th overall world championship for this age group. The first 15 were held as the FIFA World Youth Championship before the competition assumed its current name in 2007. The USA’s best finish came at the 1989 tournament in Saudi Arabia, as the team led by future USMNT goalkeeper Kasey Keller took fourth.
During the most recent tournament at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, the USA rolled to a third-straight quarterfinal appearance, defeating New Zealand 4-0 in the Round of 16 before falling 1-0 to eventual champions Uruguay in the final eight. Seven players from that roster have represented the U.S. Men’s National Team, with Diego Luna and Jack McGlynn called up to the senior squad that will take part in the June friendlies against Tükiye and Switzerland.
The USA qualified for the 2025 U-20 World Cup after a runner-up finish at the 2024 Conacacaf U-20 Championship last summer in Mexico. The U.S. opened the tournament with a 9-0 win against Jamaica, defeated Cuba 4-0 and bested Costa Rica 1-0 to claim top spot in Group A. In the quarterfinals, a Ruben Ramos goal gave the side a 1-0 win against Guatemala, while goals from David Vazquez and Brooklyn Raines pushed the USA past Panama in the semifinal. The U.S. took a 1-0 lead in the final through Nimfasha Berchimas, but Mexico roared back to claim a 2-1 extra time win on Aug. 4 in León.