The 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship was held in Russia from 17 August to 3 September 2006. It was the officially recognized world championship for women's under-20 national association football teams. Matches were held in four Moscow stadiums (Dynamo, Lokomotiv, Podmoskovie Stadium and Torpedo Stadium) and one in Saint Petersburg (Petrovsky Stadium).
This was the third women's world youth championship organized by FIFA, but the first with an age limit of 20. The first two events, held in Canada in 2002 and Thailand in 2004, had an age limit of 19. FIFA changed the age limit to prepare for the creation of an under-17 championship in 2008.
North Korea won the tournament. They became the first Asian team to win a FIFA women's tournament and the first Asian football team to win any FIFA tournaments since Saudi Arabia's triumph in the 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship.
Venues
Squads
Tournament
The draw for the tournament was held in Moscow's City Hall on 22 March 2006. 14 of the 16 competing teams (the two CAF teams were then still undecided) learned their first-round groupings.
The 16 participating U-20 women's teams from the six FIFA confederations are:
1.Teams that made their debut.
Group stage
Group A
All times local (UTC+4)
Group B
Group C
Group D
Knockout stage
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
3rd place playoff
Final
Awards
The following awards were given for the tournament:
All star team
Scorers
5 goals
Ma Xiaoxu
Kim Song-hui
4 goals
Anna Blässe
Cynthia Uwak
3 goals
Ludmila Manicler
Fatmire Bajramaj
Maureen Eke
Danesha Adams
2 goals
Collette McCallum
Fabiana
Jodi-Ann Robinson
Zi Jingjing
Marie-Laure Delie
Nadine Kessler
Simone Laudehr
Célia Okoyino Da Mbabi
Charlyn Corral
Rita Chikwelu
Akudo Sabi
Jo Yun-mi
Jong Pok-hui
Kil Son-hui
Kim Kyong-hwa
Anna Kozhnikova
Vanessa Bürki
Amy Rodriguez
Jessica Rostedt
Kelley O'Hara
1 goal
Mercedes Pereyra
Belén Potassa
Danielle Brogan
Sally Shipard
Adriane
Francielle
Amanda Chiccini
Kaylyn Kyle
Lou Xiaoxu
You Jia
Zhang Weishuang
Trésorine Nzuzi
Laure Boulleau
Amandine Henry
Jessica Houara
Louisa Necib
Juliane Maier
Lydia Neumann
Jennifer Oster
Monique Cisneros
Maria de Lourdes Gordillo
Mónica Ocampo
Abby Erceg
Emma Humphries
Tawa Ishola
Hong Myong-gum
O Kum-hui
Ri Un-hyang
Kim Hyang-mi
Kim Ok-sim
Svetlana Akimova
Elena Terekhova
Alexandra Long
Casey Nogueira
Own goals
Yuan Fan (for Finland)
Further information
This was the first time an Australian football team has played in a worldwide competition as an Asian Football Confederation team. However, the country's senior men's team was the first to play as an AFC team, competing in its first 2007 Asian Cup qualifier in February 2006, two months before the AFC qualifiers for this competition. Before 1 January 2006, Australia was a member of the Oceania Football Confederation. This was the first U-20 Women's tournament in which a Canadian has not won the Golden Shoe award, given to the top goal scorer of the tournament. Canadians Christine Sinclair and Brittany Timko won the award in 2002 and 2004 respectively.