FIFA U-20 World Cup begins in Chile

By Mark Ogagan

The 24th edition of FIFA U-20 World Cup kicks off today (Saturday, 27th September, 2025) in Chile.

Japan and Egypt will face off in Group A at Santiago’s Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos in the opening game of this year’s tournament.

Both nations proudly display one medal from the U-20 event in their respective cabinets, as Japan won silver at Nigeria ’99 after losing to Spain in the final, while Egypt finished Argentina 2001 with bronze thanks to a 1-0 win over Paraguay in the third-place match.

In other matches slated for Matchday 1, hosts Chile face New Zealand, Paraguay tackle Panama, while Korea Republic and Ukraine do battle in a repeat of the Poland 2019 decider.

South Africa and Nigeria play their first group matches on Monday against France (Group E) and Norway (Group F) respectively.

Fixtures
Saturday 27 September
Japan v Egypt
Korea Republic v Ukraine
Chile v New Zealand
Paraguay v Panama