Trio to Represent U.S. at Under-20 Women’s World Cup

ATLANTA – U.S. Under-20 Women’s Youth National Team head coach Vicky Jepson has named the 21 players, including Stanford’s Caroline Birkel, Lizzie Boamah and Y-Lan Nguyen, who will represent the United States at the 2026 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland that will run from Sept. 5-27.

The USA opens the World Cup on Sunday, Sept. 6 against Italy (Noon ET / 6 p.m. local on FOX Soccer Plus), then faces 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finalist Japan on Wednesday, Sept. 9 (Noon ET / 6 p.m. local on FS2) and finishes the group stage against New Zealand on Saturday, Sept. 12 (9 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. local on FS1). The U.S. will play its first and second group games at Stadion Miejski LKS Lodz in Lodz and its final group game at Arena Sosnowiec in Sosnowiec. Every match of the tournament will be broadcast in English on the FOX family of networks.

2026 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup 
Group D – USA Schedule

Date	Match	Kickoff (ET)	Venue; City	Broadcast
Sept. 6	USA vs. Italy	Noon	Stadion Miejski LKS; Lodz, Poland	FSP
Sept. 9	USA vs. Japan	Noon	Stadion Miejski LKS; Lodz, Poland	FS2
Sept. 12	USA vs. New Zealand	9 a.m.	Arena Sosnowiec; Sosnowiec, Poland	FS1

The USA roster is composed of eight professional players currently playing in the National Women’s Soccer League and 13 college players – with Stanford’s three selections tied with North Carolina for the most from any college program.

2026 FIFA U.S. Under-20 Women’s World Cup Roster by Position (College or Club; Hometown; U-20 Caps/Goals)
Goalkeepers (3): Caroline Birkel (Stanford; St. Louis, Mo.; 6), Evan O'Steen (Seattle Reign FC; Grapevine, Texas; 2), Kealey Titmuss (Penn State; Grand Blanc, Mich.; 5)
Defenders (7): Aven Alvarez (UNC; New Hill, N.C.; 12/0), Ella Bard (Louisville; Wadsworth, Ohio; 6/0), Lizzie Boamah (Stanford; San Diego, Calif.; 6/0), Pearl Cecil (Virginia; Encinitas, Calif.; 2/0), Emma Johnson (Penn State; Greenfield, Ind.; 9/1), Hope Munson (UNC; Holladay, Utah; 6/0), Katie Scott (Kansas City Current; Fairview, Pa.; 11/1)
Midfielders (6): Kennedy Fuller (Bay FC; Southlake, Texas; 8/2), Lily Joseph (Notre Dame; Hamden, Conn; 2/0), Ainsley McCammon (Seattle Reign FC; Bedford, Texas; 6/0), Y-Lan Nguyen (Stanford; Fairfax, Va.; 5/0), Nyanya Touray (Florida State; Silver Spring, Md.; 4/0), Linda Ullmark (Houston Dash; Buffalo, N.Y.; 7/6)
Forwards (5): Emeri Adames (Seattle Reign FC; Red Oak, Texas; 4/1), Alex Buck (Washington; Medina, Wash.; 6/1), Micayla Johnson (Chicago Stars FC; Troy, Mich; 4/2), Audrey McKeen (Racing Louisville FC; Vienna, Va.; 2/0), Sealey Strawn (UNC; Prosper, Texas; 2/0)

Six players on this U-20 roster, including Nguyen, played in the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup on the team that finished third in the world in the Dominican Republic. Birkel is one of two players to make a return trip from the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup squad that finished third in the world in Colombia.

For the second time ever, and in its 12th installment, the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will feature 24 nations. This competition started in 2002 as a 12-team tournament played at the U-19 level. The 2004 tournament also featured U-19s before moving to U-20s for the 2006 tournament. The USA has played in every FIFA tournament at this age level. 

The 24 teams that will compete in the tournament are host Poland, England, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain from Europe; the USA, Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica from Concacaf; Benin, Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria from Africa; Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia from South America; Korea Republic, Japan, Korea DPR and China PR from Asia; and New Zealand and New Caledonia from Oceania.

The first-time participants in this tournament are Benin, Ecuador, New Caledonia, Poland, Portugal and Tanzania. There haven’t been as many as six debutantes since the 2006 tournament. 

The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup features 24 countries divided into six groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group and the four best third-place finishers will advance to the Round of 16 taking place on Sept. 16 and 17. The quarterfinals will all be played on Sept. 19 and 20 with the semifinals being contested on Wednesday, Sept. 23. The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Final and Third-Place Match will be held on Sunday, Sept. 26. This is the second time the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will feature Round of 16 matches. 

The 52 matches of this tournament will take place at four stadiums and in four cities spanning three metropolitan areas: Arena Katowice in Katowice (15,500 capacity), Stadion Miejski Bielsko-Biala in Bielsko-Biala (14,963), Stadion Miejski LKS Lodz in Lodz (18,029) and Arena Sosnowiec in Sosnowiec (11,600). Katowice and Sosnowiec are adjacent cities in southern Poland. Lodz is in central Poland while Bielsko-Biala is 40 miles south of Katowice and Sosnowiec.