China PR, Colombia, DPR Korea and Spain eye the knockouts
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2026™ continues on Thursday with the second matchdays in Groups E and F. China PR, Colombia, DPR Korea and Spain can all reach the Round of 16 with a second victory in the group stage.
Fixtures
Thursday, 10 September DPR Korea v Costa Rica Spain v New Caledonia Colombia v Portugal China PR v Nigeria
How to watch
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Poland 2026™ will be available to watch on FIFA+ via DAZN in selected territories. Supporters can check which other broadcasters are showing each match in their territory on the Matches page. Fans can buy tickets to watch the stars of tomorrow here.
Group E
DPR Korea v Costa Rica
Stadion Miejski LKS Lodz | Lodz
Kick-off time
07:00 in San Jose 15:00 in Lodz 22:00 in Pyongyang
Since the draw in May, Costa Rica have been dreading this clash with DPR Korea as much as they have been looking forward to it. The reason is simple: two years ago in Colombia, Las Ticas suffered a heavy 9-0 defeat against the eventual world champions. While they know they will once again face a tough challenge, Sheika Scott and her team are determined to show that they have closed the gap. After losing their opening match 3-1 to Colombia, the Costa Rican youngsters will have to fight hard to keep their hopes of reaching the Round of 16 alive. DPR Korea, meanwhile, made a confident start by beating Portugal 2-0 and will advance to the next round if they win in Lodz.
Colombia v Portugal
Stadion Miejski LKS Lodz | Lodz
Kick-off time
11:00 in Bogota 17:00 in Lisbon 18:00 in Lodz
Colombia can also secure their place in the last 16 with a win over Portugal. After suffering a scare by Costa Rica on Monday, where their opponents took the lead, Carlos Paniagua’s side responded brilliantly to claim a 3-1 victory. The clash awaiting them on Matchday 2 is a historic one, as Portugal are making their first appearance at the tournament. Despite their defeat by defending champions DPR Korea, the Europeans can take confidence from a very solid overall performance. They will now be hoping to score their first goal in the competition and get their qualification campaign back on track.
Group F
Spain v New Caledonia
Arena Sosnowiec | Sosnowiec
Kick-off time
15:00 in Sosnowiec 15:00 in Madrid 00:00 in Noumea (Friday, 11 September)
Spain are overwhelming favourites for this encounter. After making a very convincing start against Nigeria, with a 2-0 victory in which they controlled the game, Celia Segura and her team will now face the tournament’s underdogs, New Caledonia. The OFC representatives know they are facing a huge challenge and that there is a gap between the two sides on paper. However, against a strong China PR in their opening match, they lost 5-0 and, more importantly, managed the feat of going into half-time at 0-0. Leon Waitronyie and his players know they will have to suffer, but they are also expecting a valuable learning experience against one of the best teams in the world.
China PR v Nigeria
Arena Sosnowiec | Sosnowiec
Kick-off time
17:00 in Abuja 18:00 in Sosnowiec 00:00 in Beijing (Friday, 11 September)
An exciting clash awaits in Sosnowiec between China PR, who can seal their qualification with a win, and a Nigeria side looking to get off the mark following defeat to Spain. After taking some time to find their rhythm and finishing touch, the AFC giants gained plenty of confidence in the second half against New Caledonia, scoring five goals. They will now look to build on that momentum against an opponent who struggled to impose their game against La Rojita, but who will also remember that they came close to troubling Spain on one or two occasions with some dangerous attacks. The Nigerian youngsters will also be looking to turn the tide against an opponent they have faced three times previously in the competition, but have never beaten.
What they said...
"Playing against Spain will also be another opportunity for us to learn and to test ourselves against an even stronger team, the world’s No1-ranked side. We will try to push ourselves even further and give our very best to represent our country as well as possible." Kheimera Gondou, New Caledonia midfielder
"I think Spain always comes to win. We are very clear that this is our objective and we are going to take it step by step. We are not thinking about the final yet, but obviously, that is our ultimate goal. And we want to represent Spain in the best possible way and take the team as high as we can." Marisa Garcia, Spain striker
"The match against DPR Korea will be very difficult. If we improve on the finer points, I believe we can hold our own. We played well [against Colombia], and it was the small lapses in concentration that made the difference. We must be responsible and avoid the mistakes we made [in the opener]." Patricia Aguilar, Costa Rica coach
"I am very happy to be the first player to score a hat-trick in this competition. Of course [I would like to win the Golden Boot award]. We now need to focus on our next match against Nigeria, which will be a tough game." Huang Jiaxin, China PR forward
"Of course, we are going to go through [to the knockout rounds]. I am confident." Moses Aduku, Nigeria coach
Key stats
Huang Jiaxin scored the first hat-trick of the U-20 showpiece in China PR's 5-0 victory over New Caledonia.
DPR Korea defeated Costa Rica 9-0 the last time they met at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in 2024. It is the joint second-largest margin of victory in the tournament's history.
Nigeria and China PR will meet for the fourth time in FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup history. No other first-round fixture at Poland 2026 has been played more often, with the exception of USA v Japan, which will also be their fourth meeting.
Costa Rica have now played 13 matches at the global tournament, dating back to 2010, without a registering a point.
Catalina Cortes scored just a minute after coming on as a substitute in Colombia's 3-1 victory over Costa Rica.