Sergej Milinkovic-Savic Mali Serbia U20Getty Images

Mali the youngest, Portugal the oldest - the average ages at the Fifa U20 World Cup

The stage is set for the 22nd edition of the Fifa U20 World Cup with all the participating teams submitting their final list for the championship. With an average age of 18.57 years, Mali are taking the youngest group of players to the championship.

After winning their first Africa U20 Cup of Nations, coach Mamoutou Kane has kept faith in the majority of the players that played in Niger Republic – with Mamadou Traore and Sekou Koita leading the pack.

Portugal, on the other hand, have the oldest squad, with an average age of 19.95 years, just ahead of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine.

 
The average age of each 2019 U20 World Cup squad
Team Youngest player Oldest player Average age
ArgentinaPedro de Livega (18)   Tomas Chancalay (20)19.4
ColombiaAndres Amaya (18)Reinaldo Fontalvo (20)19.57
EcuadorJordan Rezabala (19)John Espiro (20)19.7
FranceWilliam Saliba (18)Youssouf Fofana (20)`19.66
HondurasJonathan Nunez (18)  Cesar Romero (20)19.44
ItalyRoberto  Alberico (19)Gianluca Scamacca (20)19.17
JapanZion Suzuki (17)Mitsuki Saito (20)19.19
South KoreaLee Kangin (18)Lee Sangjun (20)19.76
Mali AlKalifa Coulibaly (18) Mamadou Traore (20) 18.57
MexicoCarlos Higuera (19)Kevin Alvarez (20)19.7
New ZealandBen Waine (18)Michael Wood (20)19.4
NigeriaZulkifilu Muhammed (17)Aniekeme Okon (20)19.2
NorwayErling Haland (19)Markus Pettersen (20)19.8
PanamaEmerson Dimas (18)Manuel Gamboa (20)19.4
Poland   Nicolas Zalewski (17)Tymotevsz Puchacz (20)19.4
Portugal Pedro Meto (19) Arantes Maximiano (20) 19.95
QatarHashim Ali (19)Ahmad Yasser (20)19.8
Saudi ArabiaFeras Albikan (19)Khalifah Aldawsari (20)19.7
SenegalMoussa Ndiaye (17)Souleymane AW (20)18.8
South AfricaOswin Appolis (18)Khulekani Kubeka (20)19.66
TahitiTevaitimi Teumere (16)Hennel Tehaamoana (20)18.7
UkraineDanylo Sikan (18)Oleh Veremienko (20)19.7
UruguayEmiliano Gomez (18)Nicolas Schiappacasse (20)19.47
USAJulian Araujo (18)Mark McKenzie (20)19.09
 

Hosts Poland have gone for a mix of players between 17 and 20 years of age, as coach Jacek Magiera has included 13 players who are 20, while Radoslaw Majecki, Nicola Zalewski and Maik Nawrocki bring the average down to 19.4

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The statistic for the tallest player at the 2019 Fifa U20 World Cup is shared by Nigeria’s Olawale Oremade and Dan-Axel Zagadou of France; towering above all at 196 cm. Saudi Arabia’s midfielder Salem Al Saleem is the shortest player in the competition at 160 cm.

Heading into the competition, some teams have adopted a more youthful approach than others while most have gone for a blend of ages. After the final on June 15 at the Stadion Widzewa, Lodz, we will see which approach works best.

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