CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Sophomore defender Pearl Cecil was named to the U.S. roster for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup by head coach Vicky Jepsen it was announced by U.S. Soccer on Wednesday (Aug. 19). The event is hosted by Poland and will run from Sept. 5-27.
The USA opens the World Cup on Sunday, Sept. 6 against Italy (Noon ET / 6 p.m. local on FOX Soccer Plus), then faces 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finalist Japan on Wednesday, Sept. 9 (Noon ET / 6 p.m. local on FS2) and finishes the group stage against New Zealand on Saturday, Sept. 12 (9 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. local on FS1). The U.S. will play its first and second group games at Stadion Miejski LKS Lodz in Lodz and its final group game at Arena Sosnowiec in Sosnowiec. Every match of the tournament will be broadcast in English on the FOX family of networks.
“This group wears the crest with honor, and we’re excited to see what they can accomplish together,” Jepson said. “They all have tremendous pride in earning this opportunity to represent their country on the world’s biggest stage for their age group. We really want to thank the NWSL clubs and the colleges for their collaboration in releasing their players for this tournament as it will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for many of them and we know it will be an invaluable growth experience for these young women on their soccer journeys.”
Four players on this U-20 WWC roster, one on each positional line, played for the USA in last year’s 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, making the transition directly from the U-17 World Cup to the U-20 World Cup. Those players are goalkeeper Evan O’Steen, defender Pearl Cecil, midfielder Nyanya Touray and forward Micayla Johnson. Cecil played every minute of each of the four games, captaining the USA in three of them.
Cecil Named To U.S. Roster For U20 FIFA Women’s World Cup
Pearl Cecil was tabbed for service for the United States in the upcoming U20 FIFA Women's World Cup in Poland.