Brazil beats USA on penalties to eliminate them from U-20 Women's World Cup in Katowice
The United States were eliminated from the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Katowice, Poland, on 16 September 2026 after a 1-1 draw with Brazil that was decided by penalties. Brazil goalkeeper Thaís Lima saved Emeri Adames’s opening spot-kick and Brazil prevailed 5-4 in the shootout to move into the quarter-finals.
The result continues a run of poor knockout outcomes for US youth sides, marking the third time since last October that a US youth team has failed to win a World Cup knockout match. The U-17 boys and the U-17 girls both exited in the last 16 of their respective tournaments in shootouts, and the U-20 men were knocked out in the quarter-final in October 2025. The US remain holders of 2024 Olympic gold in women’s soccer and winners of two of the past three senior Women’s World Cups; the nation’s last U-20 tournament victory came in 2012 with a squad led by Crystal Dunn, Julie (Johnston) Ertz and Sam Mewis, who are now retired.
Wednesday’s match was physical and disjointed at times; Brazil defender Sofia opened the scoring with a goal from a 59th-minute corner and Seattle Reign midfielder Ainsley McCammon equalized from the run of play late in the 63rd minute. Neither side could break the deadlock through the remainder of normal time and extra time, setting up Lima’s decisive save to begin the penalty sequence.
Brazil topped their group in Poland, beating Tanzania, Canada and England by a combined 9-2 aggregate, and the win over the United States secures their third consecutive quarter-final appearance at a U-20 Women’s World Cup and their seventh in 12 tournaments. Their best joint finishes at the competition are third place, achieved in 2006 and 2022.
The US struggled in group play, losing their opener to Italy, drawing Japan 2-2, and recording a 9-0 victory over New Zealand; that big win was sufficient for the Americans to progress to the knockout round as one of the tournament’s top third-place sides.
The timing of this year’s U-20 Women’s World Cup has attracted criticism: staged every other year and normally held in August or September, this installment fell at the later end of that window and was not played in a FIFA release window, leading many in-season clubs to decline releasing players. On Tuesday, a group of current and former players including Alex Morgan, Marta, Dunn and Sophia Wilson signed an open letter asking FIFA to reconsider the scheduling. Emma Hayes told ESPN, “When I speak about this subject, I am sending a warning sign that I am worried,” and added, “I am massively worried about the direction for and the lack of all of those experiences for American players.”
Several age-eligible US players were absent from the tournament squad, including OL Lyonnes midfielder Lily Yohannes, Bay midfielder Claire Hutton, rising center-back Jordyn Bugg and playmaking technician Melanie Barcenas. North Korea are the defending champions of the U-20 Women’s World Cup, which concludes with the final on 27 September.