Six standout players to follow from the 2024 Fifa U-20 Women’s World Cup
From a mesmerising North Korean teenager with an eye for goal; to an implacable Dutch penalty shootout hero.
The Fifa U-20Women’s World Cup 2024 has wrapped up after a month bursting with action, and what a ride it has been.
We have been treated to some fantastic football from some of the world’s greatest young talents at colourful football stadiums nestled at the foot of the Colombian mountains.
The expanded edition saw the tournament grow from 16 to 24 teams, making for even more match-ups. The fan turnout was great. Not least for the Colombia games where the stadium was filled to the brim, really making the Las Chicas Poderosas feel that home advantage.
It would end up being an all-Asian final, for the second time, as the tournament's two strongest sides matched up for the final game. Japan brought a tight defence that had only conceded two goals in their run to the final. They were up against North Korea, who ended up scoring 25 goals, the second-highest in tournament history. The game was tough with good chances for both sides, but in the end, it was Choe Il-Son’s well-worked goal that proved to be the difference.
With this victory, North Korea won their third title, joining a select group of Germany and the US to have won the competition three times. It also disrupted the Spanish reign of the last few years.
Even though the composed North Korea proved too tough in the end, Japan should be proud of the effort they put in at this tournament. Several of their players received individual awards — including Manaka Matsukubo who received the Silver Ball and Maya Hijikata the Bronze Boot. The Fair Play award also went to Japan.
So, let’s have a look at some of the standout players from this year’s tournament.
Choe Il-Son, North Korea
The North Korean side as a whole works very impressively, elevated by Choe Il-Son’s high individual level. The team moves so fast with laser-sharp passes. Her awareness of where to position herself at all times, to utilise the spaces opened up by the fluttering movement, is intuitive and intelligent. She can finish with her right or left foot, never hesitating to take a shot.
Il-Son’s movement around the ball is so comfortable, demonstrated by the goal she scored in the final. She received a long pass, stepped over it, nutmegged the defender, brought the ball in towards the middle, and teed it up to fire off the shot.
It’s frightening and exciting to imagine that she is only 17 years old and already delivers this kind of quality football. She was the top goal scorer with her six goals and got the Golden Boot, as well as the Golden Ball, for her efforts.
Manaka Matsukubo, Japan
Manaka Matsukubo is the engine of this exciting Japanese team, exemplified by the way she took her team into the final with her two stellar goals against the Netherlands, making it Japan’s third successive final.
Her positioning between the lines allows her teammates to play those progressive passes and create dangerous goalscoring opportunities. She’s relentless in the middle of the pitch. The way that she effortlessly reads the play speaks to her high game intelligence.
The attacker received the Silver Ball after a stellar tournament in which only the performance of Il-Son and North Korea outshone Matsukubo and Japan. The 19-year-old plays her club football for North Carolina Courage. 2024 has been her first full season as a pro in the NWSL, after first arriving on loan to the club at the end of the 2023 season.
Ally Sentnor, USA
Sentnor had the honour of captaining the US side. A team that always comes into tournaments with plenty of expectations on their shoulders.
They kicked off against the 2022 winners Spain and kept scorelines quite tight throughout the tournament. They almost missed out on the semifinal. Trailing 0-2 to Germany, with only injury time on the clock remaining, the Americans managed to score in the 97th and 98th minutes, the second courtesy of Sentnor, to take the game to extra time and penalties.
She plays with maturity, facing the opposition with a brazenness that is chilling. Sentnor is not afraid to turn away defenders, seeking out that space to cut inside and take on a shot.
She earned the Bronze Ball, and is the first U-20 US player to get the accolade since Julie Ertz (formerly Johnston) in 2012.
Sentnor plays for the Utah Royals in the NWSL and has already started to make a name for herself. In July, her eye-catching performances, saw her named NWSL Rookie and Player of the Month for her three goals and one assist.
Lucía Corrales, Spain
The Spanish team came to Colombia ready to defend their title, and despite being primed to do so, it did not go quite as they hoped. Nonetheless, they put in a good performance, and were outplayed only by one of the finalists, Japan.
A standout player in this star-studded team is Lucía Corrales. She is a creative and fearless player, a workhorse in the midfield. She was constantly feeding the attack opportunities, getting three assists to her name as well as recording the most crosses of any player in the Spanish squad.
Corrales was running up and down that wing, running into spaces and stretching out the width of the defense. She was also, like most Spanish players, very confident to take the opposition on in 1v1 situations. Her movement is so fluid and comfortable, she can navigate these tight spaces as effortlessly as a seamstress threading a needle.
Minutes were hard to come by for the Barcelona senior side last season; Corrales managed just 10 appearances (353 minutes) during the 2023-24 Liga F season. But a loan to Sevilla for the 2024-25 season should offer her the chance to become a starter.
Gi Fernandes, Brazil
Despite being known for their ‘jogo bonito’ and flourishing style of football, Brazil has displayed a solid defence throughout the tournament. The team only conceded twice, and Fernandes’ presence played a vital role.
Fernandes is versatile and has a bit of everything. She can play in the defence as well as in midfield. For the majority of this U-20 World Cup, she was played on the right wing in Rosana Augusto’s 3-4-3 formation and covered a lot of distance on the pitch for Brazil.
The 19-year-old has a phenomenal work rate, tracking back and dropping into the defensive shape when needed. She’s good at reading the game and shuts down any danger quickly. Fernandes can also provide the support going forward, supplying the attack with crosses from the wing, as well as continuously breaking the lines.
Femke Liefting, Netherlands
We were graced with a lot of beautiful goals throughout the tournament, but there was some strong shot-stopping action delivered as well.
The Netherlands had the tough job of going up against the hosts in the quarter-final. Colombia did well and had the backing of the crowd. In the knockout game, Liefting proved to be the difference as she made some vital saves, including coming out to make herself big and throwing herself at the feet of two-time goalscorer Karla Torres.
The game eventually had to be decided on penalties. With Liefting saving two, and her teammates all converting theirs, Holland booked their ticket to the semifinal.
Liefting is fearless and switched on, constantly following the game and is able to predict where she will be needed. Her performances between the posts meant that she was the worthy recipient of the Golden Glove.
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Loving the Cutback, this is great stuff.