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England women's national under-20 football team

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England Women's U-20s
Nickname(s)The 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 was an association football team that represented England women at under-20 level until 2018. 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.

2018 Under-20 World Cup

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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.[1] 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.[2][3]

Move to U-21 system (2018–2021)

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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)

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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.[4] 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.[5]

Competitive record

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FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup

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FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Canada 2002 Quarter-finals 6th 4 1 1 2 7 11
Thailand 2004 Did not qualify
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Russia 2006 Did not qualify
Chile 2008 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 2 1 4 5
Germany 2010 Group stage 13th 3 0 1 2 2 5
Japan 2012 Did not qualify
Canada 2014 Group stage 11th 3 0 2 1 3 4
Papua New Guinea 2016 Did not qualify
France 2018 Third place 3rd 6 3 2 1 13 7
Costa Rica 2022 Did not qualify
Colombia 2024 Did not qualify
Poland 2026 To be determined
Total 5/11 3rd 20 5 8 7 29 32

Current squad

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Head coach Mo Marley named a 21-player squad to participate in the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Brittany, France.[6]

Players born between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2002 were eligible to compete in the tournament.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1 1GK Sandy MacIver (1998-06-18)18 June 1998 (aged 21) United States Clemson Tigers
13 1GK Ellie Roebuck (1999-09-23)23 September 1999 (aged 19) England Manchester City W.F.C.
21 1GK Emily Ramsey (2000-11-16)16 November 2000 (aged 18) England Manchester United W.F.C.

2 2DF Anna Patten (1999-04-20)20 April 1999 (aged 20) United States Florida State Seminoles
3 2DF Maz Pacheco (1998-08-25)25 August 1998 (aged 20) England Reading F.C.
5 2DF Grace Fisk (1998-01-05)5 January 1998 (aged 21) United States South Carolina Gamecocks
6 2DF Megan Finnigan (1998-04-02)2 April 1998 (aged 21) England Everton L.F.C.
15 2DF Esme Morgan (2000-10-18)18 October 2000 (aged 18) England Manchester City W.F.C.
18 2DF Taylor Hinds (1999-04-25)25 April 1999 (aged 20) England Everton L.F.C.

4 3MF Mollie Rouse (1998-11-27)27 November 1998 (aged 20) United States Louisville Cardinals
8 3MF Georgia Allen (1998-06-16)16 June 1998 (aged 21) United States Syracuse Orange
12 3MF Ali Johnson (1998-12-24)24 December 1998 (aged 20) England Bristol City
14 3MF Chloe Peplow (1998-12-03)3 December 1998 (aged 20) England Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C.
20 3MF Zoe Cross (1998-02-06)6 February 1998 (aged 21) United States Missouri Tigers

7 4FW Alessia Russo (1999-02-08)8 February 1999 (aged 20) United States North Carolina Tar Heels
9 4FW Lauren Hemp (2000-08-07)7 August 2000 (aged 18) England Manchester City W.F.C.
10 4FW Georgia Stanway (1999-01-03)3 January 1999 (aged 20) England Manchester City W.F.C.
11 4FW Niamh Charles (1999-06-21)21 June 1999 (aged 20) England Liverpool L.F.C.
16 4FW Chloe Kelly (1998-01-15)15 January 1998 (aged 21) England Everton L.F.C.
17 4FW Rinsola Babajide (1998-06-17)17 June 1998 (aged 21) England Liverpool L.F.C.
19 4FW Charlie Wellings (1998-05-18)18 May 1998 (aged 21) England Birmingham City W.F.C.

References

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  1. ^ "England claim third place on penalties". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  2. ^ "England women beat Netherlands to reach semi-finals in France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  3. ^ "U20 World Cup: England women suffer semi-final defeat to superior Japan". 20 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  4. ^ Association, The Football. "England Women's U23s squad named for Belgium trip in October 2021". englandfootball.com.
  5. ^ Frith, Wilf (18 November 2020). "FIFA U-20 and U-17 Women's World Cups cancelled". SheKicks.
  6. ^ "England Squad Named for FIFA Women's U20 World Cup". FA. Retrieved 20 August 2018.