England women's national under-20 football team

This article is about the women's team. For the men's team, see England national under-20 football team.

England Women's U-20s

Nickname	The Young Lionesses
Association	The Football Association
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
FIFA code	ENG
First colours Second colours
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
Appearances	5 (first in 2002 )
Best result	Third place, 2018

The England women's national under-20 football team is an association football team that represents England women at under-20 level. It was governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). Although most national football teams represent a sovereign state, as a member of the United Kingdom's Home Nations, England is permitted by FIFA statutes to maintain its own national side that competes in all major tournaments. The team operated as England Under-21s from 2018 to 2021, followed by England Under-23s, after cancellations of the Under-19 Championship and U-20 World Cup.

Pathway Transitions

Move to U-21 system (2018–2021)

In a bid to better aid the transition between the youth pathway and senior football, the WFA announced in September 2018 that they were scrapping the U23s and U20s format in order to form an Under-21s age group, which would become the top tier of the nation's professional development phase. The move would align England's structure to that used in other European countries, allowing for more age-appropriate games and better manage individual player development post-U20 World Cup for those who have genuine senior team potential. The then U20s manager Mo Marley was announced as head coach.

Move to U-23 team (2021–present)

This section is an excerpt from England women's national under-23 football team § Return of U-23 level (2021–present).[ edit ]

In October 2021, the FA announced the return of an under-23 team as newly appointed senior manager Sarina Wiegman looked to increase international playing opportunities for promising players in the senior pathway, particularly those who had aged out of the under-21 squad. Mo Marley was appointed head coach and tasked with also mentoring Emma Coates and Fara Williams as coaches. ^[1] The move came off the back of the cancellation of two editions of the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship and one FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, further limiting opportunities for youth international experience. ^[2]

Under-20 World Cups

2018 Under-20 World Cup

In 2018 they finished third at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, their best ever finish at the tournament. They won the play-off for third 4–2 on penalties against the host nation France. ^[3] In the knockout rounds, they overcame tournament debutants the Netherlands 2–1 in the quarter-finals before losing 2–0 to Japan, which was the first time England they had reached the semi-final stage. ^{[4] [5]}

2026 Under-20 World Cup

England Women's Under-19s confirmed England's qualification for the 2026 Under-20 World Cup in June 2025 ^[6] , despite finishing 3rd in their group at the 2025 Under-19 European Championship ^[7] .

A group of Under-19 and Under-20 players were announced for the first Under-20 training camp in over 7 years on 19 November 2025, with games against China PR, USA and Mexico to be played in Murcia, Spain. England Women's Under-19s Head Coach Lauren Smith took control of the Under-20s as they beat Mexico and China, and lost to a strong USA Under-20 side. ^[8]

Competitive record

FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup

FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2002	Quarter-finals	6th	4	1	1	2	7	11
2004	Did not qualify
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2006	Did not qualify
2008	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	2	1	4	5
2010	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	2	5
2012	Did not qualify
2014	Group stage	11th	3	0	2	1	3	4
2016	Did not qualify
2018	Third place	3rd	6	3	2	1	13	7
2022	Did not qualify
2024	Did not qualify
2026	To be determined
Total	5/12	3rd	20	5	8	7	29	32

Head-to-head record

The following table shows England's head-to-head record in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Australia	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Brazil	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Canada	1	0	0	1	2	6	−4	000.00
Chinese Taipei	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00
Chile	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
France	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Japan	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	000.00
Mexico	3	1	1	1	7	3	+4	033.33
Netherlands	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
New Zealand	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Nigeria	3	0	2	1	3	4	−1	000.00
North Korea	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100.00
South Korea	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
United States	2	0	0	2	1	8	−7	000.00
Total	20	5	8	7	29	32	−3	025.00

Current squad

Head coach Lauren Smith named a 24-player squad to take part in a training camp, including three international fixtures to be played at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia, Spain. ^[9]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
	1 GK	Eve Annets	(2006-03-19) 19 March 2006 (age 19)	Crystal Palace (loan)
	1 GK	Sophie Jackson	(2008-10-18) 18 October 2008 (age 17)	Tottenham Hotspur
	1 GK	Kaiya Jota	(2006-02-05) 5 February 2006 (age 19)	Stanford Cardinal
	1 GK	Sophia Poor	(2006-06-25) 25 June 2006 (age 19)	London City Lionesses
	2 DF	Damilola Atinaro		Brighton & Hove Albion
	2 DF	Ria Bose	(2006-02-07) 7 February 2006 (age 19)	Sporting CP
	2 DF	Sophie Harwood	(2007-06-25) 25 June 2007 (age 18)	Arsenal
	2 DF	Nelly Las	(2007-12-17) 17 December 2007 (age 17)	Leicester City
	2 DF	Rachel Maltby	(2007-03-25) 25 March 2007 (age 18)	Aston Villa
	2 DF	Lucy Newell	(2006-10-02) 2 October 2006 (age 19)	Birmingham City (loan)
	2 DF	Jessica Pegram	(2007-04-14) 14 April 2007 (age 18)	Rangers (loan)
	2 DF	Cecily Wellesley-Smith	(2007-01-04) 4 January 2007 (age 18)	Leicester City (loan)
	3 MF	May Cruft	(2009-09-06) 6 September 2009 (age 16)	Rangers
	3 MF	Laila Harbert	(2007-01-03) 3 January 2007 (age 18)	Arsenal
	3 MF	Chloe Hylton	(2007-04-25) 25 April 2007 (age 18)	Carolina Ascent
	3 MF	Omotara Junaid	(2007-10-04) 4 October 2007 (age 18)	Florida State Seminoles
	3 MF	Vivienne Lia	(2006-09-27) 27 September 2006 (age 19)	Nottingham Forest (loan)
	3 MF	Taylor Warren	(2008-11-30) 30 November 2008 (age 17)	Brighton & Hove Albion
	4 FW	Princess Ademiluyi	(2006-07-14) 14 July 2006 (age 19)	Fort Lauderdale United FC (loan)
	4 FW	Jessica Anderson	(2008-03-20) 20 March 2008 (age 17)	Manchester United
	4 FW	Ava Baker	(2006-01-09) 9 January 2006 (age 19)	Birmingham City
	4 FW	Jessie Gale	(2006-08-23) 23 August 2006 (age 19)	Portsmouth (loan)
	4 FW	Jane Oboavwoduo	(2009-12-29) 29 December 2009 (age 15)	Manchester City
	4 FW	Lois Shooter	(2008-01-06) 6 January 2008 (age 17)	Chelsea

Recent Call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the England under-19 squad within the last twelve months.

Names in bold denote players who have been capped by England in a higher age group. This list may be incomplete.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Chloe Sarwie	(2008-12-19) 19 December 2008 (age 16)	-	-	Chelsea
MF	Vera Jones INJ	(2008-02-18) 18 February 2008 (age 17)	-	-	Bristol City (loan)
MF	Eva Hendle INJ	(2008-04-30) 30 April 2008 (age 17)	-	-	Chelsea
INJ = Withdrew due to injury

Recent schedule and results

This list includes match results from the past 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Chile   v   England

26 November 2025Friendly	Chile	1—2	England	Murcia, Spain
	Jiaxuan 58'	Report	Shooter 17' Baker 91' (pen.)	Stadium: Pinatar Arena

England   v   United States

29 November 2025Friendly	England	1—4	United States	Murcia, Spain
	Gale 93'	Report	Long Pfeiffer	Stadium: Pinatar Arena

  Mexico v England  

2 December 2025Friendly	Mexico	2—3	England	Murcia, Spain
	Valadez 5' Fragoso Garcia 51'	Report	Lia 6' Cruft 29' Baker 49'	Stadium: Pinatar Arena

References

1. Association, The Football. "England Women's U23s squad named for Belgium trip in October 2021". englandfootball.com.
2. Frith, Wilf (18 November 2020). "FIFA U-20 and U-17 Women's World Cups cancelled". SheKicks. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
3. "England claim third place on penalties". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
4. "England women beat Netherlands to reach semi-finals in France". BBC Sport. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
5. "U20 World Cup: England women suffer semi-final defeat to superior Japan". BBC Sport. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
6. "Spain headline European qualifiers for Poland 2026". FIFA. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
7. UEFA.com. "Spain-England | Women's Under-19 2025". UEFA.com. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
8. England, The FA. "Report: Mexico 2-3 England WU20s". England Football. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
9. England Football, FA. "England WU20s squad named for Spain trip". England Football. Retrieved 19 November 2025.