New Zealand will play Argentina, Uzbekistan and Guatemala in their pool at May’s FIFA U-20 Men’s World Cup in Argentina.
The follows the draw made at FIFA’s Zurich headquarters for the 24-nation tournament that runs from May 20 to June 11.
Main photo: New Zealand’s name was drawn from the pot by Argentinian football legend Juan Pablo Sorín.
READ MORE: New Zealand to head to Argentina for FIFA U-20 Men’s World Cup >>>>
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New Zealand qualified for the World Cup by reaching the final, with Fiji, of last year’s OFC U-19 Championship in Tahiti, a tournament they won.
Argentina qualified when their national body sought to host the tournament at short notice after Indonesia were stripped of hosting rights.They are the most successful nation at U-20 level, having won the U-20 World Cup six times.
Uzbekistan will be at their fifth U-20 World Cup after qualifying as Asian Confederation champions.
Guatemala will represent CONCACAF (Central, North America and Caribbean) and will play at their second tournament.
New Zealand have never played Argentina or Guatemala before at a U-20 World Cup tournament but have clashed with Uzbekistan once, losing 3-0 to them at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey.
The New Zealand U-20 side lost 3-1 to Guatemala in February at an invitational tournament in Indonesia.
READ MORE: New Zealand U-20 men’s team lose 3-1 to Guatemala at international tournament >>>>
The groups
Group A
Argentina
Uzbekistan
Guatemala
New Zealand
Group B
United States
Ecuador
Fiji
Slovakia
Group C
Senegal
Japan
Israel
Colombia
Group D
Italy
Brazil
Nigeria
Dominican Republic
Group E
Uruguay
Iraq
England
Tunisia
Group F
France
Korea Republic
The Gambia
Honduras
Fixture schedule
FIFA has released the fixture schedule for the tournament following the draw.
READ MORE: Fixture schedule announced for FIFA U-20 Men’s World Cup in Argentina >>>>
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