One month to go: FIFA U-20 World Cup draw results were announced

The draw was held in Zurich, Switzerland yesterday. Among the six confirmed groups, the seed of Group A and host of the event, Argentina, will face New Zealand, Uzbekistan and Guatemala. The locals will be looking for their seventh title, last one won in 2007, to further expand the margin as the top winner in the history of the U20 World Cups.

On the other hand, in Group B, the United States will face Ecuador, Fiji and Slovakia. In Group C, Senegal will face Japan, Colombia and Israel. This last one will make its absolute debut in a world championship in this category.

Five-time champion Brazil returns to the competition after its absence in the last two editions. They will face Italy, Nigeria, two-time runner-up, and the Dominican Republic, who will also make its debut.

Group E will be played between Uruguay, twice runner-up, Iraq, Tunisia and England, champion in 2017. Finally, France, champion in 2013, will face South Korea, runner-up in the last edition, Gambia and Honduras in Group F.

It is worth remembering that the tournament was initially going to be held in Indonesia, but was canceled after protests against Israel’s participation, given the country’s position in the Palestine-Israel conflict. After much uncertainty, FIFA withdrew Indonesia’s candidacy and decided to grant it to Argentina.

This change was very beneficial for the host country, not only because it will host the event again after its organization in 2001, but also because it gave the Argentine U20 National Team the chance to participate as a host.

The early elimination of the team led by Javier Mascherano in the South American U20 took away their chance to participate. This twist in the story restored their enthusiasm.

The group stage, which will have four teams in each of the six zones, will begin on May 20 and will run until Sunday 28. The first and second from each group will go on to the round of 16, plus the four best third parties. From there, the elimination phase will begin until reaching the grand final, which will be played on Sunday, June 11 in La Plata.

Regarding the venues, FIFA confirmed the four stadiums that will be used for the tournament. These are the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in La Plata, the Bicentenario of San Juan, the Único Madres de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero and Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza.

The stadium with the largest capacity is La Plata, with the possibility of receiving up to 53,000 spectators. It is followed by the Mendoza Stadium with 42,000 seats available, the Santiago del Estero Stadium, originally with 30,000 seats, but which could have 42,000 seats available and the San Juan Bicentenario, which can receive 25,000 fans.