With just a couple of days to go until the latest FIFA U20 World Cup, FIFA.com takes a statistical look at New Zealand 2015 and the tournament’s history.
694 U20 World Cup graduates have gone on to compete in the senior FIFA World Cup, while 32 have lifted the most coveted trophy in the beautiful game.
100 of the 504 players at New Zealand 2015 play their football in foreign leagues. USA’s squad, with 13, has the most players overseas, followed by Mali with ten. By contrast, every one of the players representing Myanmar, Ukraine and Uzbekistan ply their trade with domestic clubs.
85 different countries have been represented at the U20 World Cup during the 20 editions since 1977. That number is to swell yet further at New Zealand 2015 with the addition of debutants Fiji and Myanmar.
68 wins and 216 goals are the tournament record tallies held by Brazil ahead of New Zealand 2015.
48 centimetres tall and 5.1 kilograms in weight, the current U20 World Cup trophy was redesigned in 2011, with France the first and thus far only team to hold aloft this version.
18 years and nine months is the average age that establishes Nigeria as the youngest squad at New Zealand 2015. The oldest, meanwhile, will be provided by the European duo of Germany and Ukraine, both of whom have an average age of 20.
14 seconds is all it took Nigeria’s Monday Odiaka to score the fastest goal in U20 World Cup history against Canada in 1985.
13 goals were scored in the highest-scoring match in U20 World Cup history: Brazil’s 10-3 win over Korea Republic at Malaysia 1997. Future Seleção internationals Fernandao and Ze Elias posted braces apiece in the contest, while Adailton was on target six times in an incredible 39-minute spell. Kosta Salapasidis of Australia and Spain’s Fernando Llorente, who managed four goals in respective meetings with Argentina in 1997 and Chile in 2005, remain the only other players to have netted more than three times in one game.
13 years and three months was the tender age at which Republic of Ireland’s Jason Byrne became the youngest player in the history of the U20 World Cup in 1991.
11 goals at the 2001 edition not only earned Javier Saviola the Adidas Golden Shoe, but set a tournament record that still stands.
8 different U20 World Cups – a tournament record – were overseen by Les Scheinflug as coach of Australia. Other U20 coaching veterans include the esteemed Jose Pekerman, who won three of the four U-20 World Cups in which he led Argentina, Berti Vogts, Carlos Queiroz, Raymond Domenech and Ange Postecoglou.
7 players arrive at New Zealand 2015 having already played at a U-20 World Cup. All seven took part at Turkey 2013: the Mali trio of Ichaka Diarra, Souleymane Sissoko and Hamidou Traore, Ghana’s Clifford Aboagye, New Zealand captain Bill Tuiloma, Nigeria’s Onyinye Ndidi and Zhabikillo Urinboev of Uzbekistan. A total of 77 players at this tournament have experience of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with New Zealand alone boasting 12 veterans of that particular tournament.
6 U20 World Cup titles (1979, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2007) have established Argentina as the tournament’s most successful team. Brazil follow on five, with two-time winners Portugal are the only other country to have lifted the trophy more than once.
