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Nigeria, for the first time ever present youngest Under-20 squad at the World Cup



The Flying Eagles have presented their youngest-ever assembly at the New Zealand Fifa U20 World Cup


With an average age of just 18.9 years, Nigeria are, for the first time ever, taking the youngest panel of players to the championship in which they have twice contested the final.

Owing to their exploits at the African Youth Championship, where they emerged as champions, coach Manu Garba has kept faith in majority of the players who won the World U17 championship in UAE – with Kelechi Iheanacho, Musa Muhammed and goal machine Taiwo Awoniyi leading the pack.

Enyimba’s Kingsley Sokari is their oldest player at 20 years and one day, while Zaharaddeen Bello is Nigeria’s youngest representative, at 17 years five months.

Germany, on the other hand, have the oldest squad, with an average age of 19.9 years, just ahead of Portugal, Ukraine and Korea DPR.

Bayern Leverkusen’s 19-year old forward Julian Brandt is the European’s youngest player in a group containing a total of 19 players who are 20 or over.

Senegal’s Moussa Wague, 16 years seven months, is the youngest of all 504 players at the competition. Having been born in October 1998, he is just a month older than Ghana’s Kingsley Fobi. At the other end of the scale, Argentina’s 20 years five months forward Alejandro Romero is the oldest player in the competition.

Average age of each 2015 U20 World Cup squad 
TeamYoungest playerOldest playerAverage age
Argentina Emiliano Buendia (18)Alejandro Romero  (20)19.6
AustriaKonrad Laimer (17)Jakob Kreuzer (20)19.8
BrazilGabriel Jesus  (18)Alef Dos Santos  (20)19.3
ColombiaAndres Tello (18)Daniel Londono (20)19.7
FijiMataiasi Toma  (19)Praneel Naidu  (20)19.7
GermanyJulian Brandt  (19)Grischa Proemel  (20)19.9
GhanaKingsley Fobi (16)Barnes Osei (20)19.04
HondurasDabirson Castillo  (18)Bryan Rochez (20)19.5
HungaryPatrik Demjen  (17)Bence Mervo  (20)19.3
Korea DPRRI In Hak  (18)Kim Yu Song  (20)19.80
MaliLassine Konate  (18)Ichaka Diarra  (20)19.4
MexicoErick Aguirre  (18)Victor Guzman  (20)19.5
MyanmarThan Paing (18)Htike Htike Aung  (20)19.4
New ZealandNoah Billingsley  (17) Joel Stevens  (20)19.1
NigeriaZaharaddeen Bello (17)Kingsley Sokari (20)18.9
PanamaA'berto Carrasquilla (17)Fidel Escobar (20)19.1
PortugalGoncalo Guedes  (18)Tiago Sa   (20)19.9
QatarTarek Salman   (18)Serigne Abdou   (20)19.05
SenegalMoussa Wague  (16)Elimane Cisse  (20)19.2
SerbiaIvan Saponjic   (17)Filip Jankovic (20)19.4
UkraineArtem Biesiedin   (19)Artem Habelok  (20)19.8
UruguayMarcelo Saracchi (17)Facundo Castro  (20)19.3
USACameron Carter (17)Paul Arriola  (20)19.3
UzbeskitanSarvar Karimov (18)Javokhir Sokhibov (20)19.5

Hosts New Zealand have gone for a mix of young and old as coach Darren Bazeley has included seven players who are 20 or older, while Clayton Lewis and Moses Dyer (both 18) bring the average down to 19.1.

The award for tallest player at the 2015 Fifa U20 World Cup goes to Serbia’s 18-year-old goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, with a staggering height of 202 cm. Should the FK Vojvodina man be at his best in New Zealand, chances are that he might just stop all the attacking forays of opposing strikers.

Ghana’s defender Patrick Asmah is the shortest player in the competition at 152 cm.
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