Brazil and Poland advance as Argentina and England triumph

Argentina and Brazil eased to victories

Maltby hat-trick paced England as Poland edged Mexico

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The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Poland 2026™ group stage continued on Tuesday as Argentina hit eight past Benin in Katowice and Brazil brushed past ten-player Canada in Bielsko-Biala to seal their knockout berth.

Later in the day, hosts Poland booked their last 16 spot thanks to a narrow win over Mexico, while Rachel Maltby struck for a first half hat-trick in England's takedown of Tanzania.

Group A

Benin 0-8 Argentina

Argentina goals: Julia Vinhas (16), Mercedes Diz (32, 48), Annika Paz (45+7, 60, 63 & 66), Julieta Aguilar (80) Visa Player of the Match: Annika Paz (Argentina)

Argentina recovered from their opening defeat to hosts Poland to put an incredible eight goals past Benin to get their campaign back on track. The star of the show was Paz, who scored four goals including a six-minute hat-trick to surge to the top of the adidas Golden Boot standings.

The South Americans took the lead when defender Vinhas directed a looping header into the net. They doubled their tally through a sweet left-footed strike from Diz, who later sealed her brace shortly into the second half. Diz, 17, is having an incredible year after making her debut for the senior national team and scoring the goal that secured Argentina's place at the FIFA Women's World Cup Brazil 2027™ in June.

The game, though, belonged to Paz, who opened her account with a header deep into first-half injury time. She then converted a rebound after her initial penalty attempt was missed, deflected in a third and struck from close range for her quartet. Substitute Aguilar made it eight for Argentina late on.

What they said...

"I think if you look at the first 10 minutes, you think, 'Yeah, this is going to work'. But then, physically, you start to drop off. You know, when you take a hit physically and mentally, it becomes very difficult. But for me, I’d say there’s no reason to get discouraged. There’s a third game to play, and we can go out there and win that third game. So for me, nothing is lost. We just have to stay clear-headed and try to look back at what didn’t work." Ouzerou Abdoulaye, Benin coach

"Against Poland, considering the quality of the opposition, we actually played a very good game. But, as I said, at half-time, we had created 11 chances to their two and were still 2-0 down. Today was the complete opposite. We knew we were facing a totally different opponent. We made a few mistakes when building from the back in the first half, but our efficiency helped us, a little like Poland’s efficiency helped them against us." Christian Meloni, Argentina coach

"The team simply came out and gave everything. We are very happy to have taken the three points and to have added to our goal tally, which is hugely important. But the star is always the team. Obviously, I am very happy to have been able to contribute. Now we have to start thinking about Mexico." Annika Paz, Argentina player

Poland 2-1 Mexico

Poland goals: Oliwia Zwiazek (9), Zuzanna Witek (76 pen) Mexico goal: Martyna Bartczak own goal (5) Visa Player of the Match: Zuzanna Witek (Poland)

Poland captain Zuzanna Witek coolly converted a late penalty to secure a second successive victory for the hosts, who have now qualified for the knockout rounds in their debut campaign in the U-20 showpiece.

Marcin Kasprowicz's side were a goal down after just five minutes after Martyna Bartczak inadvertently put the ball into her own net under pressure from a Mexico forward. But they immediately bounced back, with Oliwia Zwiazek levelling the scores with a powerful effort four minutes later for her second goal of the tournament.

Poland had goalkeeper Julia Wozniak to thank for keeping them in the game, particularly with a point-blank save from the onrushing Montserrat Saldivar as half-time approached. Witek then kept her nerve from the spot as the Poles marched into the Round of 16 to the delight of a raucous crowd in Katowice.

What they said...

"This is a fantastic time for us. There is no doubt that playing at the World Cup is a great honour, but it is also a responsibility. This is what we show on the pitch. All our players are doing a tremendous job. It is fantastic work, and it is paying off, as we are winning these games. It was very difficult today. I said before that the game against Mexico would be very demanding – and it was exactly like that. We are celebrating our qualification for the Round of 16." Marcin Kasprowicz, Poland coach

"For sure, we are happy with the result. Now we have six points, which we are very happy about, and we can’t wait to find out who our opponent will be in the Round of 16. I think there is more and more excitement about the team in Poland, so there is a real sense of euphoria and joy." Oliwia Zwiazek, Poland player

"This is an unforgettable moment. I have been dreaming of scoring at the World Cup, and I hope this won’t be my last goal." Zuzanna Witek, Poland captain

"Once again, I think we played a good game. Unfortunately, that good performance was not reflected in the result, and we ended up losing. The important thing now is to remain calm. We still have one game left against Argentina. It is a decisive match for us, and we will go into it looking for the victory that could take us through to the next round." Dorival Bueno, Mexico coach

"In the end, I feel there were still a few things we needed to do better. Even so, I don’t think we played a bad game. Now we just need to look at what was missing, and we still have one match left." Berenice Ibarra, Mexico player

Group B

Brazil 3-0 Canada

Brazil goals: Nogueira pen (7), Vitorinha (49), Brendha (52) Visa Player of the Match: Clarinha (Brazil)

A quickfire pair of second-half strikes ensured Brazil made it two wins from two against a Canada side who played the majority of the game with ten players.

After an even start, Brazil were handed a golden chance to take the lead when Clarinha danced her way into the area before being fouled by Olivia Chisholm. Nogueira stepped up and slotted the spot-kick beyond the despairing dive of Noelle Henning. Things went from bad to worse in the 25th minute as a slick Brazil move sent Gisele through, leading Stephanie Schoeley to bring her down outside the area and earn a straight red card.

Canada held firm for the remainder of the half but were breached soon after the restart. The lively Evelin picked the ball up and set up Vitorinha to slam home from just outside the area. Two became three soon after, as Dulce got in behind and squared to give Brendha a tap in to complete the scoring and ensure Brazil's spot in the last 16.

What they said...

“It’s a team effort. Of course, individual performances make the team stronger, but having a very united team is what matters most. Individual awards are the result of the collective work.” Clarinha, Brazil player

"I’m very happy. I don’t think I could have imagined this even in my wildest dreams. I want to thank God, my family, the team and the coaching staff. Only we know how hard we’ve been working since the first call-up of this cycle. We’re showing everyone what Brazil is all about." Vitorinha, Brazil player

"We’ve already managed to give several players in our squad their debuts. We only have one or two who haven’t played yet – apart from the goalkeepers, of course. Changing the starting line-up was a strategy to help us compete better against Canada, who are very strong physically. They have some very quick players. We tried to match them physically, and we did it." Camilla, Brazil coach

"I don't think anything was missing, I just think we were unlucky to concede a penalty early and to go down a player. We just have to move forward with these takeaways against Tanzania to make sure that we get the win. Resilience, sticking together and giving 100 per cent is what we need to win." Annabelle Chukwu, Canada player

"What was missing was one player and a little bit of luck. It was just one of those days in which what could go wrong went wrong. It's part of youth football for them to learn from and grow through those moments. We'll be stronger in the next couple days. We're going to need everybody, on and off the field. We want to make sure that the kids take learnings from today." Cindy Tye, Canada coach

England 5-1 Tanzania

England goals: Rachel Maltby (15 pen, 43 pen, 45+5), Princess Ademiluyi (9), Gale (74) Tanzania goals: Jamila Mnunduka (65) Visa Player of the Match: Rachel Maltby (England)

Rachel Maltby notched a hat-trick to help power England past Tanzania. The Young Lionesses were on the front foot from the start, as Princess Ademiluyi broke the deadlock with an excellent finish off a cross from Vivienne Lia.

Maltby quickly doubled the lead with a calm conversion from the spot, followed by another well-struck penalty shortly before half-time. She then carved out her third of the evening with a composed left-footed finish.

Tanzania kept fighting and pulled a goal back when Jamila Mnunduka hooked one into net after a mad scramble, but the day would belong to England, as Jessie Gale stabbed home to make it five.

What they said...

"I’m feeling pretty good, but I think it’s credit to the rest of my team-mates for winning those penalties and feeding me that cross. We definitely grew from the Canada game. We spoke about the crosses and getting on the end of them and I think we did that. There are still things to work on going into Brazil but it’s a good start. [The match against Brazil] It’s going to be a really exciting game. The last one, which is really important for us, but we’ll just prepare the same way and hopefully get a win." Rachel Maltby, England player

"What Rachel gives you is a real maturity about her play. Obviously she's got a great process from a penalty perspective that she's learned and developed. But she is the kind of kid that will just take on board what information you give her and she'll go out and try and perform to her best. The fact that she's getting pretty regular minutes in WSL just shows the level that she's aspiring to be at. So yeah, very proud of what she's achieved so far in the first two games. And it's very nice that a defender is currently our top goal scorer. She may well be going for the Golden Boot! I'm backing her." Lydia Bedford, England coach