Somalia national under-20 football team

{{Short description|National under-20 association football team representing Somalia}}

{{Infobox national football team

| Name = Somalia U-20

| Badge = Coat of arms of Somalia.svg

| Nickname = The Ocean Stars

| Association = Somali Football Federation
({{lang|so|Xiriirka Soomaaliyeed ee Kubbadda Cagta}})

| Sub-confederation = CECAFA
(Central & East Africa)

| Confederation = CAF (Africa)

| Coach =

| Home Stadium = Mogadishu Stadium

| Most caps =

| Top scorer =

| First game = {{fbu|20|UGA}} 1–2 {{fbu-rt|20|SOM}}
(Kampala, Uganda; 14 June 1986)

| Largest win =

| Largest loss = {{fbu|20|SOM}} 1–8 {{fbu-rt|20|TAN}}
(Karatu, Tanzania; 26 November 2020)

| pattern_la1 = _estoril1819a

| pattern_b1 = _SOM_h22

| pattern_ra1 = _estoril1819a

| pattern_sh1 = _shorts

| pattern_so1 = _socks

| leftarm1 = 73C2FB

| body1 = 73C2FB

| rightarm1 = 73C2FB

| shorts1 = 73C2FB

| socks1 = 73C2FB

| pattern_la2 = _zenit2122a

| pattern_b2 = _SOM_a22

| pattern_ra2 = _zenit2122a

| pattern_sh2 = _shorts

| pattern_so2 = _socks

| leftarm2 = FFFFFF

| body2 = FFFFFF

| rightarm2 = FFFFFF

| shorts2 = FFFFFF

| socks2 = FFFFFF

| U20WC apps = None

| U20WC first =

| U20WC best =

| Regional name = U-20 Africa Cup of Nations

| Regional cup apps = 1

| Regional cup first= 1987

| Regional cup best = Semi-finals (1987)

}}

The Somalia national under-20 football team, nicknamed the Ocean Stars, represents Somalia in international youth football competitions. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the senior national team. The team competes in a variety of competitions, including the biennial FIFA U-20 World Cup and the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, which is the top competitions for this age group.{{Cite web|title=Somalia U20 |url=https://int.soccerway.com/teams/somalia/somalia-u20/27172/ |access-date=17 September 2024}}{{Cite web|title=Somalia unveils list of U20 squad for AFCON U20 qualifiers: CECAFA Zone|url=https://archive.footballsomalia.so/english/articles/1199/Somalia-unveils-list-of-U20-squad-for-AFCON-U20-qualifiers-CECAFA-Zone |date=20 November 2020 |access-date=17 September 2024}}

History

The Somalia national under-20 football team was first established to participate in the 1987 African Youth Championship. In their debut, they achieved a remarkable feat by defeating Uganda in the first round. Although they lost to Zimbabwe in the subsequent round, Zimbabwe was disqualified for fielding ineligible players, allowing Somalia to advance to the semifinals, where they faced Nigeria. However, after this, the team did not participate in any major tournaments until the 2001 African Youth Championship, where they were disqualified in the preliminary round against Uganda. In the 2003 edition, they suffered a significant 6–0 defeat against Nigeria, one of Africa’s football powerhouses.{{Cite web|title=CECAFA U20 Challenge Cup: South Sudan defeat Somalia to top Group C |url=https://kawowo.com/2019/09/25/cecafa-u20-challenge-cup-south-sudan-defeat-somalia-to-top-group-c/ |date=25 September 2019 |access-date=18 September 2024}}

In 2021, Somalia re-entered the international youth football scene, competing in the 2020 CECAFA U-20 Championship, which also served as a qualifier for the 2021 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Mauritania.{{cite web|url=https://www.camfoot.com/actualites/can-2019-un-dernier-sursis-pour-le-cameroun,29217.html|title=CAN 2019 : un dernier sursis pour le Cameroun ?|publisher=CamFoot|date=29 September 2018|language=fr}} Despite being placed in a challenging group with Tanzania and Djibouti, they narrowly lost 2–1 to Djibouti{{Cite web|title=AFCON U-20 QUALIFIERS: Djibouti recover to defeat Somalia |url=https://cecafaonline.com/afcon-u-20-qualifiers-djibouti-recover-to-defeat-somalia/ |website=Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations |date=24 November 2020 |access-date=17 September 2024}} and recorded a heavy 8–1 defeat to Tanzania.{{Cite web|title=AFCON U-20 QUALIFIERS: Eight star Tanzania book semi-final berth |url=https://cecafaonline.com/afcon-u-20-qualifiers-eight-star-tanzania-book-semi-final-berth/ |website=Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations |date=26 November 2020 |access-date=17 September 2024}}.In 2023 Somalia did not enter to the 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations qualification nor the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations qualification in 2025.{{Cite web|title=Rwanda, Eritrea pull out as TFF settles for Arusha to host Cecafa U20 Championship |url=https://www.goal.com/en/news/rwanda-eritrea-pull-out-as-tff-settles-for-arusha-to-host-cecafa-u20-championship/17yn8xp80eiby1o9ngvkyydeg6 |date=17 November 2020 |access-date=18 September 2024}}{{Cite web|title=Ethiopia to Face Uganda, South Sudan in AfCON U20 Zonal Qualifiers |url=https://ethiopianmonitor.com/2024/09/13/ethiopia-to-face-uganda-south-sudan-in-afcon-u20-zonal-qualifiers/#google_vignette |date=13 September 2024 |access-date=18 September 2024}}

Competitive record

=FIFA U-20 World Cup record=

Year !Round !GP !W !D¹ !L !GS !GA
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" !colspan=8\|FIFA U-20 World Cup record
{{flagicon\|TUN\|1959}} 1977	colspan=7 rowspan=24\|Did not qualify
{{flagicon\|JPN\|1947}} 1979
{{flagicon\|Australia}} 1981
{{flagicon\|Mexico}} 1983
{{flagicon\|Soviet Union}} 1985
{{flagicon\|Chile}} 1987
{{flagicon\|Saudi Arabia}} 1989
{{flagicon\|Portugal}} 1991
{{flagicon\|Australia}} 1993
{{flagicon\|Qatar}} 1995
{{flagicon\|Malaysia}} 1997
{{flagicon\|Nigeria}} 1999
{{flagicon\|Argentina}} 2001
{{flagicon\|United Arab Emirates}} 2003
{{flagicon\|Netherlands}} 2005
{{flagicon\|Canada}} 2007
{{flagicon\|Egypt}} 2009
{{flagicon\|Colombia}} 2011
{{flagicon\|Turkey}} 2013
{{flagicon\|New Zealand}} 2015
{{flagicon\|South Korea}} 2017
{{flagicon\|Poland}} 2019
{{flagicon\|Argentina}} 2023
{{flagicon\|Chile}} 2025
Total\|\|0/24\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0

¹Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

References

External links

{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110316070219/http://www.somsoccer.com/english/news_center.php Somali Football Federation]}} (archived)
[https://www.cafonline.com/member-associations/som/ Somalia] at CAF
[https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/associations/SOM Somalia] at FIFA
[https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/som-intres.html List of international matches at RSSSF]

under-20

Somalia

Year !Round !GP !W !D¹ !L !GS !GA
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" !colspan=8\|FIFA U-20 World Cup record
{{flagicon\|TUN\|1959}} 1977	colspan=7 rowspan=24\|Did not qualify
{{flagicon\|JPN\|1947}} 1979
{{flagicon\|Australia}} 1981
{{flagicon\|Mexico}} 1983
{{flagicon\|Soviet Union}} 1985
{{flagicon\|Chile}} 1987
{{flagicon\|Saudi Arabia}} 1989
{{flagicon\|Portugal}} 1991
{{flagicon\|Australia}} 1993
{{flagicon\|Qatar}} 1995
{{flagicon\|Malaysia}} 1997
{{flagicon\|Nigeria}} 1999
{{flagicon\|Argentina}} 2001
{{flagicon\|United Arab Emirates}} 2003
{{flagicon\|Netherlands}} 2005
{{flagicon\|Canada}} 2007
{{flagicon\|Egypt}} 2009
{{flagicon\|Colombia}} 2011
{{flagicon\|Turkey}} 2013
{{flagicon\|New Zealand}} 2015
{{flagicon\|South Korea}} 2017
{{flagicon\|Poland}} 2019
{{flagicon\|Argentina}} 2023
{{flagicon\|Chile}} 2025
Total\|\|0/24\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0\|\|0