England women's national under-20 football team
| Nickname | The Young Lionesses | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | The Football Association | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| FIFA code | ENG | ||
| |||
| 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)
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 | 0.00 |
| Brazil | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Canada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0.00 |
| 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 | 0.00 |
| Japan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0.00 |
| Mexico | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 33.33 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Nigeria | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 0.00 |
| North Korea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 100.00 |
| South Korea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0.00 |
| United States | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0.00 |
| Total | 20 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 29 | 32 | −3 | 25.00 |
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Eve Annets | 19 March 2006 | Crystal Palace (loan) | |||
| GK | Sophie Jackson | 18 October 2008 | Tottenham Hotspur | |||
| GK | Kaiya Jota | 5 February 2006 | Stanford Cardinal | |||
| GK | Sophia Poor | 25 June 2006 | London City Lionesses | |||
| DF | Damilola Atinaro | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||||
| DF | Ria Bose | 7 February 2006 | Sporting CP | |||
| DF | Sophie Harwood | 25 June 2007 | Arsenal | |||
| DF | Nelly Las | 17 December 2007 | Leicester City | |||
| DF | Rachel Maltby | 25 March 2007 | Aston Villa | |||
| DF | Lucy Newell | 2 October 2006 | Birmingham City (loan) | |||
| DF | Jessica Pegram | 14 April 2007 | Rangers (loan) | |||
| DF | Cecily Wellesley-Smith | 4 January 2007 | Leicester City (loan) | |||
| MF | May Cruft | 6 September 2009 | Rangers | |||
| MF | Laila Harbert | 3 January 2007 | Arsenal | |||
| MF | Chloe Hylton | 25 April 2007 | Carolina Ascent | |||
| MF | Omotara Junaid | 4 October 2007 | Florida State Seminoles | |||
| MF | Vivienne Lia | 27 September 2006 | Nottingham Forest (loan) | |||
| MF | Taylor Warren | 30 November 2008 | Brighton & Hove Albion | |||
| FW | Princess Ademiluyi | 14 July 2006 | Fort Lauderdale United FC (loan) | |||
| FW | Jessica Anderson | 20 March 2008 | Manchester United | |||
| FW | Ava Baker | 9 January 2006 | Birmingham City | |||
| FW | Jessie Gale | 23 August 2006 | Portsmouth (loan) | |||
| FW | Jane Oboavwoduo | 29 December 2009 | Manchester City | |||
| FW | Lois Shooter | 6 January 2008 | 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 | 19 December 2008 | - | - | Chelsea | |
| MF | Vera Jones INJ | 18 February 2008 | - | - | Bristol City (loan) | |
| MF | Eva Hendle INJ | 30 April 2008 | - | - | Chelsea | |
| ||||||
Recent schedule and results
This list includes match results from the past 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
| 29 November 2025 Friendly | England | 1—4 | United States | Murcia, Spain |
|
Report | Stadium: Pinatar Arena |
| 2 December 2025 Friendly | Mexico | 2—3 | England | Murcia, Spain |
|
Report | Stadium: Pinatar Arena |
References
- ^ Association, The Football. "England Women's U23s squad named for Belgium trip in October 2021". englandfootball.com.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "England claim third place on penalties". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- ^ "England women beat Netherlands to reach semi-finals in France". BBC Sport. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ^ "U20 World Cup: England women suffer semi-final defeat to superior Japan". BBC Sport. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- ^ "Spain headline European qualifiers for Poland 2026". FIFA. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ^ UEFA.com. "Spain-England | Women's Under-19 2025". UEFA.com. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ^ England, The FA. "Report: Mexico 2-3 England WU20s". England Football. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
- ^ England Football, FA. "England WU20s squad named for Spain trip". England Football. Retrieved 19 November 2025.