England women's national under-20 football team

England Women's U-20s
NicknameThe Young Lionesses
AssociationThe Football Association
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
FIFA codeENG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
Appearances5 (first in 2002)
Best resultThird 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.

Current squad

Interim head coach John Salomon named a 24-player squad, a mixture of under-19s and under-20s, for three international fixtures against Spain, the Netherlands, and Mexico, on the Costa Blanca, in Spain, between February and March 2026. Jessie Gale and Eleanor Klinger were subsequently called up to the under-23 squad, they were replaced by Princess Ademiluyi and Lily Murphy.[9]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1GK Eve Annets (2006-03-19) 19 March 2006 Crystal Palace (loan)
1GK Lily Clarke (2008-09-13) 13 September 2008 Aston Villa
1GK Sophie Jackson (2008-10-18) 18 October 2008 Tottenham Hotspur
1GK Kaiya Jota (2006-02-05) 5 February 2006 Stanford Cardinal

2DF Ria Bose (2006-02-07) 7 February 2006 West Ham United
2DF Nelly Las (2007-12-17) 17 December 2007 Ipswich Town (loan)
2DF Sacha Lewis (2008-02-28) 28 February 2008 Manchester City
2DF Rachel Maltby (2007-03-25) 25 March 2007 Aston Villa
2DF Lucy Newell (2006-10-02) 2 October 2006 Crystal Palace (loan)
2DF Niamh Peacock (2008-03-22) 22 March 2008 Arsenal
2DF Cecily Wellesley-Smith (2007-01-04) 4 January 2007 FC Rosengård (loan)

3MF Lola Brown (2007-10-31) 31 October 2007 Crystal Palace (loan)
3MF May Cruft (2009-09-06) 6 September 2009 Rangers
3MF Laila Harbert (2007-01-03) 3 January 2007 Everton (loan)
3MF Chloe Hylton (2007-04-25) 25 April 2007 Carolina Ascent
3MF Vera Jones (2008-02-18) 18 February 2008 Bristol City (loan)
3MF Omotara Junaid (2007-10-04) 4 October 2007 Florida State Seminoles
3MF Vivienne Lia (2006-09-27) 27 September 2006 Hammarby IF (loan)

4FW Princess Ademiluyi (2006-07-14) 14 July 2006 Ipswich Town (loan)
4FW Jessica Anderson (2008-03-20) 20 March 2008 Manchester United
4FW Ava Baker (2006-01-09) 9 January 2006 Ipswich Town (loan)
4FW Layla Drury (2009-06-12) 12 June 2009 Manchester United
4FW Lily Murphy (2006-02-13) 13 February 2006 Manchester City
4FW Lois Shooter (2008-01-06) 6 January 2008 Chelsea

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the England under-20 squad within the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Sophia Poor (2006-06-25) 25 June 2006 - - London City Lionesses v.  China, 26 November 2025

DF Damilola Atinaro - - Brighton & Hove Albion v.  China, 26 November 2025
DF Sophie Harwood (2007-06-25) 25 June 2007 - - Arsenal v.  China, 26 November 2025
DF Jessica Pegram (2007-04-14) 14 April 2007 - - Rangers (loan) v.  China, 26 November 2025
DF Chloe Sarwie (2008-12-19) 19 December 2008 - - Chelsea v.  China, 26 November 2025

MF Eleanor KlingerU23 (2006-11-04) 4 November 2006 - - Stanford Cardinal v.  Spain, 28 February 2026
MF Eva Hendle INJ (2008-04-30) 30 April 2008 - - Chelsea v.  China, 26 November 2025
MF Taylor Warren (2008-11-30) 30 November 2008 - - Brighton & Hove Albion v.  China, 26 November 2025

FW Jessie GaleU23 (2006-08-23) 23 August 2006 - - Bristol City (loan) v.  Spain, 28 February 2026
FW Jane Oboavwoduo (2009-12-29) 29 December 2009 - - Manchester City v.  China, 26 November 2025

  • INJ = Withdrew due to injury
  • U23 = Called up to U23 squad

Recent schedule and results

This list includes match results from the past 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2025

26 November 2025 Friendly Chile  1–2  England Murcia, Spain
  • Jiaxuan 58'
Report
Stadium: Pinatar Arena
29 November 2025 Friendly England  1–4  United States Murcia, Spain
  • Gale 93'
Report Stadium: Pinatar Arena
2 December 2025 Friendly  Mexico 2–3 England  Murcia, Spain
  • Valadez 5'
  • Fragoso Garcia 51'
Report
Stadium: Pinatar Arena

2026

28 February 2026 Friendly  Spain 3–1  England Alicante, Spain
11:00 GMT (UTC+0) Report
  • Jones 63'
Stadium: Friendly
3 March 2026 Friendly  England 1–0  Netherlands Alicante, Spain
15:00 GMT (UTC+0)
Report Stadium: Albir Garden Stadium
6 March 2026 Friendly  England 4–1  Mexico Alicante, Spain
11:00 GMT (UTC+0)
Report
  • Ibarra 90'
Stadium: Albir Garden Stadium

References

  1. ^ Association, The Football. "England Women's U23s squad named for Belgium trip in October 2021". englandfootball.com.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "England claim third place on penalties". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  4. ^ "England women beat Netherlands to reach semi-finals in France". BBC Sport. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  5. ^ "U20 World Cup: England women suffer semi-final defeat to superior Japan". BBC Sport. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Spain headline European qualifiers for Poland 2026". FIFA. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  7. ^ UEFA.com. "Spain-England | Women's Under-19 2025". UEFA.com. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  8. ^ England, The FA. "Report: Mexico 2-3 England WU20s". England Football. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  9. ^ "England WU20s squad chosen for trio of internationals". England Football. Retrieved 18 February 2026.