The Colombia national under-20 football team represents Colombia in international men's football at under-20 level and is overseen by the Colombian Football Federation (FCF). It contests the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the South American U-20 Championship and invitational and multi-sport tournaments such as the Maurice Revello Tournament and the regional games; because the age limits of some of those events differ, the federation has also entered under-19 squads, as it did at the 2026 Maurice Revello Tournament.
Colombia has qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 12 times, first in 1985. The team finished third at the 2003 tournament in the United Arab Emirates and again at the 2025 tournament in Chile, and also reached the quarter-finals in 1985, 1989, 2011 (as hosts), 2019 and 2023. In South America, Colombia has won the U-20 championship three times: 1987 and 2005, both as hosts, and 2013 in Argentina, the only title won away from home.
Colombia has also won the Maurice Revello Tournament, known until 2020 as the Toulon Tournament, three times: in 1999, 2000 and 2011. The team also won the football tournament at the 2006 and 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games. The team has been coached since 2025 by César Torres, who led it to the bronze medal in Chile.
History Early years (1954–1984) Colombia contested the first South American Youth Championship, held in Caracas in 1954, and took part in most editions thereafter; the tournament doubled as the qualifying route to the FIFA World Youth Championship from that competition's creation in 1977. The team's first podium finish came in 1964, when it finished third as host, but Colombia missed each of the first four World Youth Championships.
First World Youth Championships (1985–1993) Colombia reached a World Youth Championship for the first time in 1985, coached by Luis Alfonso Marroquín, after finishing third at the South American qualifier in Paraguay. In the Soviet Union the team drew with Bulgaria and Hungary, beat Tunisia 2–1 with goals by John Edison Castaño and John Jairo Tréllez, and reached the quarter-finals, where Brazil, the eventual champions, won 6–0, still Colombia's heaviest defeat.
Colombia won its first continental title in 1987, hosting the South American championship in Armenia, Manizales and Pereira under José Finot Castaño, with players such as Miguel Guerrero, Wílmer Cabrera and Wilson Pérez. At the 1987 World Youth Championship in Chile the team beat Bahrain 1–0, lost to East Germany and drew its third match, and went out in the first round. A runners-up finish at the 1988 South American championship in Argentina qualified Colombia for the 1989 edition in Saudi Arabia, where it beat Syria 2–0, lost to Costa Rica and the Soviet Union, and as second in its group lost 1–0 to Portugal, the eventual champions, in the quarter-finals. The squad included Óscar Córdoba, Miguel Calero, Jorge Bermúdez and Iván Valenciano, all of whom went on to play for the senior team.
Colombia qualified for the 1993 tournament in Australia under Carlos Restrepo, but Reinaldo Rueda took charge for the finals, where the team beat Cameroon but lost to Russia and the hosts and did not advance from the group; Henry Zambrano was the tournament's top scorer with three goals.
Rueda and the 2003 bronze medal (2003–2009) After a ten-year absence, Colombia returned to the World Youth Championship in 2003, coached by Rueda and led on the pitch by Fredy Guarín and Abel Aguilar. In the United Arab Emirates the team came through a group with Egypt, Japan and England, beat the Republic of Ireland 3–2 on a golden goal in the round of 16, and beat the hosts 1–0 in the quarter-finals. Spain, with Andrés Iniesta, won the semi-final 1–0, and Colombia took the bronze medal by beating Argentina 2–1 in the third-place match, the team's best result until 2025.
Colombia hosted the 2005 South American U-20 Championship, again in Armenia, Manizales and Pereira, and won it under Eduardo Lara, who succeeded Rueda when the latter was promoted to the senior team; the side included Radamel Falcao, Fredy Guarín, Hugo Rodallega, Juan Camilo Zúñiga, Dayro Moreno, Cristián Zapata and Abel Aguilar. At the 2005 World Youth Championship in the Netherlands Colombia won its group with a perfect record, but lost 2–1 to Argentina, featuring Lionel Messi and the eventual champions, in the round of 16. Colombia then missed the 2007 and 2009 tournaments.
Home World Cup and Restrepo's title (2011–2017) As hosts of the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Colombia qualified automatically and, under Lara, won all three group matches, including a 4–1 win over France in which Luis Muriel scored twice. A 3–2 win over Costa Rica in the round of 16, with goals from Muriel, Pedro Franco and James Rodríguez, was followed by a 3–1 defeat to Mexico in the quarter-finals at El Campín on 13 August, a game Mexico took after a first-half penalty. The same squad, won the 2011 Toulon Tournament.
Carlos Restrepo coached the team to its third South American title in Argentina in 2013, where Colombia won the final round with 12 points, finishing with a 2–1 win over Paraguay on 3 February; Juan Fernando Quintero scored five goals. At the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey Colombia won its group unbeaten, and Quintero scored three goals, but the team lost a round-of-16 penalty shoot-out 8–7 to South Korea after a 1–1 draw.
A second-place finish at the 2015 South American championship in Uruguay took Colombia to the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup and to the 2016 Olympic football tournament, its first Olympic qualification in 24 years. In New Zealand the team, which included Álvaro Montero, Davinson Sánchez and Rafael Santos Borré, beat Qatar 1–0, drew with Senegal and lost to Portugal 3–1, then lost 1–0 to the United States in the round of 16. Restrepo left in February 2017 after 49 matches in charge, of which 22 were wins, and Colombia finished sixth at the 2017 South American championship and missed that year's World Cup.
Quarter-finals in 2019 and 2023 Under Arturo Reyes, Colombia finished fourth at the 2019 South American championship in Chile and qualified for the World Cup in Poland, where the squad of Kevin Mier, Carlos Cuesta, Johan Carbonero, Luis Sinisterra and Cucho Hernández beat Poland and Tahiti in its group. Colombia beat New Zealand on penalties in the round of 16 and lost 1–0 in the quarter-finals to Ukraine, who went on to win the title. As hosts of the 2023 South American championship, Colombia finished third and qualified for the 2023 World Cup in Argentina, where, coached by Héctor Cárdenas, it beat Slovakia 5–1 in the round of 16 and lost 3–1 to Italy in the quarter-finals.
Torres and the 2025 bronze medal (2025–present) Coached by César Torres, Colombia finished third at the 2025 South American U-20 Championship in Venezuela, which qualified the team for the 2025 World Cup in Chile. In Talca, Óscar Perea scored the only goal of a 1–0 win over Saudi Arabia in the opening match, and after draws with Norway and Nigeria, Colombia won Group F, ahead of Norway on the fair-play tiebreaker. Néiser Villarreal scored twice in a 3–1 win over South Africa in the round of 16 and a hat-trick in a 3–2 quarter-final win over Spain, and Argentina then won the semi-final 1–0. Perea's goal after two minutes beat France 1–0 in the third-place match on 18 October, and Colombia's second bronze medal came 22 years after the first. Villarreal finished with five goals, level with two others, but lost the Golden Boot on the assists tiebreaker.
Colombia's 2026 youth tournaments, contested with under-19 squads, were less successful. The team finished bottom of its group at the 2026 Maurice Revello Tournament, with two draws and two defeats, and finished fourth in the football tournament at the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, losing the semi-final 1–0 to Venezuela and the bronze-medal match to Panama on penalties. In September the team ended its South American Games campaign in Rosario with a 3–2 defeat to Chile, a match in which Alam García and Miguel Marulanda scored after Colombia trailed by two goals.
Competitive record *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. ***Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
FIFA U-20 World Cup
YearRoundPosition 1977Did not qualify 1979 1981 1983 1985Quarter-finals8th4121510 1987First round9th311145 1989Quarter-finals8th410335 1991Did not qualify 1993First round12th310257 1995Did not qualify 1997 1999 2001 2003Third place3rd7421105 2005Round of 169th430172 2007Did not qualify 2009 2011Quarter-finals5th5401116 2013Round of 169th422062 201515th411235 2017Did not qualify 2019Quarter-finals7th521294 2021Cancelled 2023Quarter-finals6th5311117 2025Third place3rd742195 2027To be determinedTotalThird place12/24552712168363
South American U-20 Championship
YearRoundPosition 1954First round5th312032 1958Did not enter 1964Third place3rd623165 1967First round6th412155 1971First round8th4013210 1974First round8th4103412 1975Did not enter 1977First round7th310225 1979First round6th4202710 1981First round8th402238 1983First round8th410359 1985Third place3rd7331126 1987Champions1st7412112 1988Runners-up2nd742193 1991First round7th4112510 1992Third place3rd623142 1995First round6th311144 1997First round7th412168 1999First round8th410348 2001Sixth place6th9315613 2003Fourth place4th95131610 2005Champions1st9720206 2007Sixth place6th9315715 2009Fifth place5th93331010 2011Sixth place6th9135816 2013Champions1st9603168 2015Runners-up2nd9432125 2017Sixth place6th9234811 2019Fourth place4th943243 2023Third place3rd9531115 2025Third place3rd9612167Total3 titles29/31186754764226218
Managers The following coaches have led Colombia at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Tournament Manager Result 1985 Luis Alfonso Marroquín Quarter-finals 1987 José Finot Castaño First round 1993 Reinaldo Rueda First round 2003 Reinaldo Rueda Third place 2005 Eduardo Lara Round of 16 2011 Eduardo Lara Quarter-finals 2013 Carlos Restrepo Round of 16 2015 Carlos Restrepo Round of 16 2019 Arturo Reyes Quarter-finals 2023 Héctor Cárdenas Quarter-finals 2025 César Torres Third place
Players Recent squad The following players were called up for the 2026 Maurice Revello Tournament, played from 31 May to 13 June 2026.
Results
2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup
2026 Maurice Revello Tournament
Other recent matches Date Opponent Score Colombia scorers Venue Occasion 4 June 2025 2–1 Amaya , Montaño Petrosport Stadium, New Cairo Friendly 6 June 2025 1–0 Montaño Petrosport Stadium, New Cairo Friendly 8 June 2025 3–1 Palacios , Perea , Amaya Petrosport Stadium, New Cairo Friendly 10 June 2025 0–1 – Petrosport Stadium, New Cairo Friendly 27 July 2025 0–0 – Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, Cali Friendly 30 July 2025 1–0 Aristizábal Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, Cali Friendly 17 September 2025 1–1 Canchimbo Estadio CARFEM, Ypané Friendly 23 September 2025 3–2 Rentería , Benítez Estadio CARFEM, Ypané Friendly 26 May 2026 1–0 García Sede Deportiva FCF, Barranquilla Friendly 28 May 2026 2–1 Aponzá , García Sede Deportiva FCF, Barranquilla Friendly 5 August 2026 0–1 – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games, semi-final 6 August 2026 (penalties lost) – Santo Domingo 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games, third-place match 20 September 2026 2–3 García , Marulanda Estadio Marcelo Bielsa, Rosario 2026 South American Games, group stage
Head-to-head record The following table shows Colombia's head-to-head record in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. OpponentWin %Total
Honours FIFA U-20 World Cup Third place (2): 2003, 2025 South American U-20 Championship Winners (3): 1987, 2005, 2013 Runners-up (2): 1988, 2015 Third place (5): 1964, 1985, 1992, 2023, 2025 Fourth place (2): 2003, 2019 Maurice Revello Tournament