Who will Saudi Arabia play at the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup?
It will be the first time that Saudi Arabia has competed in the global competition since 2019, after the 2021 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Green Falcons failed to qualify in 2023.
But having finished as runner-up to Australia at the AFC U20 Asian Cup in China in April, Marcos Soares' side will be among the participants again at this year's edition in Chile. Saudi Arabia's team is expected to be led again by prodigious Al Ittihad youngsters Talal Haji and Farnah al-Shamrani, who played on loan at Al Riyadh and Al Kholood respectively in the Saudi Pro League this season.
In Chile, Saudi Arabia will face Colombia, Norway and Nigeria in Group F, with all three of the Green Falcons' group stage matches taking place in the Estadio Fiscal de Talca – around 250 km south of the Chilean capital Santiago. Here, Al Arabiya English takes a closer look at Saudi Arabia's opponents at the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup.
Colombia
Colombia earned its spot in Chile after finishing third in the 2025 South American U20 Championship. While most confederations use a traditional knockout tournament format, in South America the continental championship is played across two group stages. Colombia – coached by Cesar Torres – topped its first group, drawing with Argentina before beating Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil. In the final stage, Torres' side claimed convincing wins against Paraguay, Chile and Uruguay, but narrowly lost 1-0 to Argentina and eventual champion Brazil.
Colombia's squad has a mix of domestic and international-based players –with the likes of Keimer Sandoval (Real Betis), Oscar Perea (Strasbourg). Yeimar Mosquera (Aston Villa) and Alexei Rojas (Arsenal) playing in Europe. Center-back Mosquera is looking to follow in the footsteps of Jhon Duran at Villa, with his compatriot having starred in the Premier League before making a record move to Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr earlier this January.
The star of this team, however, is Néiser Villarreal. The 20-year-old midfielder plays for one of Colombia's most iconic clubs, Bogota's Millonarios, and won the 2025 South American U20 Championship Golden Boot with eight goals in nine matches. That included an eye-catching hat-trick against Paraguay for Villarreal, who also contributed four assists at the tournament.
Colombia is a three-time continental champion at U20 level, most recently winning the title in 2013, and it has reached the quarter-finals of the past two FIFA U20 World Cups, losing to Italy in 2023 and Ukraine in 2019. Its best ever finish on the global stage was third place, achieved in 2003 in the UAE, with a team that included future internationals Fredy Guarin, Abil Aguilar and Yulian Anchico.
When Saudi Arabia and Colombia meet in their opening match on September 29, it will be the first time they have competed against each other at the FIFA U20 World Cup. At senior level, the two nations have only played three previous matches – with Colombia winning their most recent friendly 1-0 in June 2022.
Nigeria
Saudi Arabia will take on Nigeria for the third time at the FIFA U20 World Cup, in the second Group F game on October 2. The two nations first battled it out in 1989 when what was then known as the FIFA World Youth Championships was held in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia faced Nigeria in its opening game but despite taking the lead, succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to the Super Eagles. One of the scorers that day was Mutiu Adepoju, who went on to play for Al Ittihad.
That Super Eagles side was just one-game from history in Saudi Arabia, finishing as runner-up to Portugal in the final at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. Had it won, it would have become the first African side to win the tournament – an honor that eventually went to Ghana in 2009.
Saudi Arabia and Nigeria also played each other in the 2011 tournament, which was held in Colombia. Goals from Ahmed Musa and Olarenwaju Kayode gave Nigeria a 2-0 win, with Musa also coincidentally going on to play his football in the Kingdom with Al Nassr. Both sides made it through Group D, with Saudi Arabia going on to lose to Brazil in the next round, while Nigeria beat England before losing to France in the quarter-finals. At senior level, there have only been two previous contests, a 0-0 draw in 2010 and a 2-2 draw in October 2023.
Nigeria has a rich history at youth level and is a record seven-time winner of the CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations – though it hasn't won the trophy since 2015. As well as reaching the 1989 FIFA U20 World Cup final, Nigeria also finished second in 2005 after having the misfortune of facing an Argentina team led by Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi in the final. Messi scored twice in a 2-1 win over the Super Eagles.
The current Nigeria team, coached by Aliyu Zubairu, relies on a number of players still based in West Africa. Defender Daniel Bameyi has already made his senior debut for the Super Eagles, while there are high hopes for Precious Benjamin and Emmanuel Shukwu, who are both in the youth system at German Bundesliga side Hoffenheim. The FIFA U20 World Cup has consistently been a great shop window for Nigerian players, with the likes of Daniel Daga, Solomno Agbalaka, Benjamin Fredrick, Jude Sunday and Samson Lawal all earning moves to Europe after the 2023 tournament.
Nigeria won its place at the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup after finishing in third place at the 2023 U20 Africa Cup of Nations – recovering from a surprise semi-final defeat to Gambia to beat Tunisia 4-0 in the third-place playoff. Ahmed Abdullahi was one of the Super Eagles' strongest performers and is currently playing for newly-promoted English Premier League club Sunderland.
Norway
Saudi Arabia and Norway last faced off at the FIFA U20 World Cup back in 1993, sharing a 0-0 draw in their group stage encounter in Adelaide as neither team made it through to the knockout stage of the tournament Down Under. They will play again 22 years later in the final Group F match in Chile on October 5. At senior level, there has only been one previous meeting between Norway and Saudi Arabia, with the former winning 6-0 in a friendly match in 1998; Manchester United striker – and future Red Devils manager – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored twice.
On its last appearance at the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2019, Norway made history by recording the biggest win in the tournament's history. That 12-0 thrashing of Honduras was notable for current Manchester City star Erling Haaland bagging a triple hat-trick – becoming the first player to score nine goals in one match for a national team at a major tournament. He unsurprisingly finished as the 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup's top scorer, though surprisingly failed to add any more goals as Norway was eliminated at the group stage thanks to defeats to Uruguay and New Zealand.
Norway – led by coach Pal Arne Johansen – qualified for the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup after finishing third in its group at the 2024 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. That meant a one-off play-off against Turkey, which Norway won 10-9 in an astonishing penalty shootout after the teams had drawn 1-1. Norway successfully converted every single one of its spot-kicks. The 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile will be Norway's fourth time at the tournament but it has only won two of its nine games – suffering elimination at the group stage in all three of its previous appearances in 1989, 1993 and 2019.
Norway's team is likely to feature many of the same players who played at last summer's UEFA U19 European Championship. That includes highly-rated Travis Hernes, the Jamaican-born midfielder who was signed by English Premier League club Newcastle United in 2023 and played on loan for Danish Superliga club AaB in the 2024-25 season. Fellow midfielder Benjamin Faraas was developed in the highly-rated youth system of Belgian side Club Brugge, while the rest of the squad is made up of players from Norway's top clubs – including Rosenborg and Molde.
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