The FIFA U-20 World Cup, until 2005 known as the FIFA World Youth Championship, is the world championship of Association football for male players under the age of 20 and is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The Championship has been awarded every two years since the first tournament in 1977.

In the fifteen tournaments held, only seven nations have won the title. Argentina is the most successful team with six titles, followed by Brazil with four titles. Portugal won two titles, while Germany , Spain, and formerly existing nations Soviet Union and Yugoslavia have won the title once each.

A corresponding event for women's teams, the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, began in 2002 with the name "FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship" and an age limit of 19. The age limit for the women's competition was changed to 20 beginning with the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship, and the competition was renamed as a "World Cup" in 2007 in preparation for the 2008 event.

The men's 2007 tournament was played in Canada. The 2009 tournament will be played in Egypt. The 2011 tournament will be played in Colombia.

Qualification

This competition, which was also known as the FIFA Coca-Cola Cup until 1997, features 24 teams in the final tournament. 23 countries, including the defending champions, have to qualify in the six confederations Youth Championships. The host country automatically qualifies.

Confederation	Championship
AFC (Asia)	AFC Youth Championship
CAF (Africa)	African Youth Championship
CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean)	CONCACAF U20 Tournament
CONMEBOL (South America)	South American Youth Championship
OFC (Oceania)	OFC Under 20 Qualifying Tournament
UEFA (Europe)	UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship

Results

Summaries

Year	Host		Final				Third Place Match
			Champion	Score	Second Place		Third Place	Score	Fourth Place
1977 Details				2–2 a.e.t. (9–8 p.k.)				4–0
1979 Details				3–1				1–1 a.e.t. (5–3 p.k.)
1981 Details				4–0				1–0
1983 Details				1–0				2–1 a.e.t.
1985 Details				1–0 a.e.t.				0–0 a.e.t. (3–1 p.k.)
1987 Details				1–1 a.e.t. (5–4 p.k.)				2–2 a.e.t. (3–1 p.k.)
1989 Details				2–0				2–0
1991 Details				0–0 a.e.t. (4–2 p.k.)				1–1 a.e.t. (5–4 p.k.)
1993 Details				2–1				2–1
1995 Details	(moved from Nigeria)			2–0				3–2
1997 Details				2–1				2–1
1999 Details				4–0				1–0
2001 Details				3–0				1–0
2003 Details				1–0				2–1
2005 Details				2–1				2–1
2007 Details				2–1				1–0
2009 Details
2011 Details

• Key:
• a.e.t. - after extra time
• p.k. - match won on penalty kicks

Performances by countries

Below are the 14 nations that have reached the final in the U-20 World Cup finals. Argentina is the most successful nation, leading with six titles and seven appearances in the final.

Team	Titles	Runners-up
	6 (1979, 1995, 1997, 2001*, 2005, 2007)	1 (1983)
	4 (1983, 1985, 1993, 2003)	2 (1991, 1995)
	2 (1989, 1991*)
	1 (1999)	2 (1985, 2003)
	1 (1977)	1 (1979)
#	1 (1981)	1 (1987)
	1 (1987)
		2 (1989, 2005)
		2 (1993, 2001)
		1 (1997)
		1 (2007)
		1 (1999)
		1 (1977)
		1 (1981)

* = host

# = includes West Germany

Performances by continental zones

All continents except Oceania had made the appearance in the final match of the tournament. To date, South America leads with ten titles following by Europe with six titles. Africa, Asia, and North America entered the final match seven times, but were disappointed by either one of the two traditional football power continents. Fourth place remains as the best result ever for Oceania, which was achieved in 1993.

Confederation (continent)	Performances
CONMEBOL (South America)	10 titles, won by Argentina (6) and Brazil (4)
UEFA (Europe)	6 titles, won by Portugal (2), Spain (1), USSR (1), Germany (1) and Yugoslavia (1)
CAF (Africa)	Runners-up (Nigeria, 1989 and 2005; Ghana, 1993 and 2001)
AFC (Asia)	Runners-up (Japan, 1999), Runners-up (Qatar, 1981)
CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean)	Runners-up (Mexico, 1977)
OFC (Oceania)	Fourth-place (Australia, 1991 and 1993)

Awards

Golden Shoe

The adidas Golden Shoe is awarded to the topscorer of the tournament. If more than one players are equal by same goals, the players will be selected based by the most assists during the tournament.

Tournament	Golden Shoe Award	Goals
1977 Tunisia	Guina	4
1979 Japan	Ramón Díaz	8
1981 Australia	Mark Koussas	4
1983 Mexico	Geovani	6
1985 Soviet Union	Sebastián Losada	3
1987 Chile	Marcel Witeczek	7
1989 Saudi Arabia	Oleg Salenko	5
1991 Portugal	Sergei Sherbakov	5
1993 Australia	Henry Zambrano	3
1995 Qatar	Joseba Etxeberria	7
1997 Malaysia	Adaílton Martins Bolzan	10
1999 Nigeria	Pablo Couñago	5
2001 Argentina	Javier Saviola	11
2003 United Arab Emirates	Eddie Johnson	4
2005 Netherlands	Lionel Messi	6
2007 Canada	Sergio Agüero	6

Golden Ball

The adidas Golden Ball award is awarded to the player who plays the most outstanding football during the tournament. It is selected by the media poll.

Tournament	Golden Ball Winner
1977 Tunisia	Volodymyr Bessonov
1979 Japan	Diego Maradona
1981 Australia	Romulus Gabor
1983 Mexico	Geovani
1985 USSR	Paulo Silas
1987 Chile	Robert Prosinečki
1989 Saudi Arabia	Bismarck
1991 Portugal	Emílio Peixe
1993 Australia	Adriano
1995 Qatar	Caio
1997 Malaysia	Andrés Nicolás Olivera
1999 Nigeria	Seydou Keita
2001 Argentina	Javier Saviola
2003 United Arab Emirates	Ismail Matar
2005 Netherlands	Lionel Messi
2007 Canada	Sergio Agüero

FIFA Fair Play Award

FIFA Fair Play Award is given to the team who has the best fair play record during the tournament with the criteria set by FIFA Fair Play Committee.

Tournament	FIFA Fair Play Award
1977 Tunisia
1979 Japan
1981 Australia
1983 Mexico
1985 USSR
1987 Chile
1989 Saudi Arabia
1991 Portugal
1993 Australia
1995 Qatar
1997 Malaysia
1999 Nigeria
2001 Argentina
2003 United Arab Emirates
2005 Netherlands
2007 Canada