New Zealand will join past winners Brazil, England and France at May’s FIFA U-20 Men’s World Cup in Indonesia.
England, Brazil and France have qualified for the tournament, as well as the well-resourced United States team who will make their 17th appearance at the tournament.
Brazil have won the U-20 trophy five times, and are among the latest teams to qualify for the tournament with the completion of the South American U-20 Championship on February 13 (NZT).
Joining Brazil as South American qualifiers are Colombia, Uruguay and Ecuador, who needed a 2-1 win against Paraguay to take the last spot.
New Zealand qualified for the tournament by reaching the final of September’s OFC U-19 Championship in Tahiti, which they won.
Main photo: New Zealand celebrate their qualification for the U-20 World Cup in Indonesia. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.
Runners-up Fiji qualify as OFC’s second nation.
The European qualifiers came from the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, held in Slovakia over the northern summer.
So far, 16 nations have secured spots at the Indonesia tournament, while eight remaining places will be filled in March when tournaments are held in Asia and Africa.
The U-20 World Cup runs from May 20 to June 11, 2023.
Already qualified
- Indonesia (host)
- Dominican Republic (CONCACAF)
- Guatemala (CONCACAF)
- Honduras (CONCACAF)
- United States (CONCACAF)
- Fiji (OFC)
- New Zealand (OFC)
- England (UEFA)
- France (UEFA)
- Italy (UEFA)
- Israel (UEFA)
- Slovakia (UEFA)
- Brazil (CONMEBOL)
- Colombia (CONMEBOL)
- Ecuador (CONMEBOL)
- Uruguay (CONMEBOL)
Still to qualify
- Four teams to qualify from Asia through the U-20 Asian Cup in March 2023.
- Four to qualify from the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in March 2023.
Tournament draw
New Zealand will learn who their group opponents are in March 2023 when the tournament draw is made in Jakarta.
READ MORE: Our coverage of the OFC U-19 Championship >>>>
