The U20 Championship for South America is set to kick off in early February, bringing together the continents top young talent. In this week’s post, I want to preview the month-long tournament that will crown the U20 champions of South America and establish the four nations that will qualify for the 2026 U20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.

The U20 South American Championship is held every two years, with the inaugural edition held in 2004. The tournament rotates host nations, with the 2026 tournament taking place in Paraguay. Not to spoil things too much, but every previous tournament has been won by Brazil, so I won’t bore you with a prediction. Brazil are the favorites to win. Don’t let Brazil’s dominance deter you from watching. There are a number of young stars taking part in this year’s tournament, and that is good reason to watch.

The tournament is scheduled to take place between February 4th and February 28th. The tournament is comprised of two round-robin tournaments. In the first round, the ten teams are split into two groups of five. After playing each other once, the top three teams from each group move onto the final group stage. Again, the six remaining teams will play each other once. The top four teams from this final group will qualify for the U20 Women’s World Cup, with the team on top of the group being crowned the winner.

The Groups for the initial phase are set as follows:

Group A
Paraguay - Host
Colombia
Chile
Uruguay
Venezuela

Group B
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Ecuador
Peru

The full schedule of the matches for Group Phase and Final Phase follow:

In anticipation of the tournament, I want to give a brief preview of each side. Youth tournaments can be tricky to preview, as there are often a number of players that are not established players for their clubs. Still there are number of well-known players in this year’s tournament, so I’ll will try to highlight at least one player from each country to keep an eye on.

A couple notes regarding the squads: I’ve done my best to get the up-to-date clubs for all of the players, but there may be some errors. Additionally, the positions listed are based on the positions provided by the CONMEBOL website. I contest some of them, and you may too. But whatevs. Just roll with it.

To begin with the preview, let’s start with Group A and hosts, Paraguay.

Paraguay are hosting the tournament for the first time, and they bring a lot of talent from the U17 side that won the South American U17 tournament last year and reached the knockout rounds of the 2025 U17 Women’s World Cup.

Squad

Players to Watch

Claudia Martinez
Obvious, she is the first name on the list of key players. Very little needs to be said about her, as she is one of the biggest rising stars in the world right now.

Pamela Villalba
Villalba partnered Martinez at Olimpia, often taking up an attacking midfield role. Although Martinez has moved on to the Washington Spirit, I expect these two to form a solid partnership in Paraguay’s attack.

Outlook

Paraguay have the biggest name in the tournament, and they’re hosts. A number of these players were in a similar tournament setting a year ago and came away champions. I don’t expect Paraguay to win the tournament, but they should be expecting to qualify for the U20 Women’s World Cup.

If you watched the USA’s recently friendly against Chile, you saw a handful of these players take the field against the USWNT. Most came on a second-half subs, but a couple started the match. One advantage Chile have is club familiarity. So many of these players are teammates at the club level, so they should be able to bring some of that familiarity to the U20 side.

Squad

Players to Watch

Vaitiare Pardo & Ambar Figueroa
The Universidad Catolica forwards are the two players I most have my eye on from Chile. If you recall from the friendly against the US, both players started for Chile occupying the wide forward positions. Pardo, in particular, had a decent match in an otherwise quiet offensive affair. Both play like wingers on their respective sides of the field, and Pardo’s pace and dribbling skills can cause trouble for defenses.

Oriana Cristancho & Martina Funck
The two goalkeepers present an interesting situation for the Chilean side. With the demise of Santiago Morning, Martina Funck joined Oriana Cristancho at Universidad de Chile. Cristancho played in net for La U in the Copa Libertadores despite turning 16 just days before their opening match. I anticipate her starting for Chile, but it’ll be interesting to see how the two keepers fight for minutes at the U20 level. A situation that may carry over into the club side.

Outlook

If Chile can find some rhythm, I think the can go pretty far in this tournament. These players are on the top teams in the Chilean league, and a number of the get regular minutes for their club sides, especially the Catolica players. They’ve got playing experience in all areas of the field, and they could see them tough to beat.

Colombia have established themselves as the second-best team on the continent in recent years, and this team looks like they can continue that tradition in this tournament.

Squad

Players to Watch

Luisa Agudelo
Perhaps the second most recognizable player in the tournament. Agudelo is an established keeper who has participated in high-level matches, including the Copa Libertadores final and Colombian league final. She’s confident and capable, and her presence in goal will be a big boon for Colombia.

Isabella Diaz & Mariana Silva
Diaz and Silva have been regulars for an Independiente Santa Fe side that has been the main competitors to Deportivo Cali over the last couple years. They aren’t as established in the first team as Agudelo was at Cali, but they get regular minutes for Santa Fe in competitive matches, including in the Copa Libertadores. They could be key to creating danger for this Colombia team.

Outlook

Among the countries not named Brazil, Colombia strike me as the country most likely to win this tournament. They are one of the oldest teams in the tournament and many of their players have seen regular action in the Colombian league and Copa Libertadores. That experience in highly competitive matches should take this team far.

Uruguay bring an older team with good domestic minutes, but whether that will translate to the U20 squad is the big question. The backbone of this roster is comprised of non-starters for Club Nacional. Being in the reserves of Uruguay’s top club is still a sign of talent, but they’ll have to carry more weight if they’re leading this side to the U20 World Cup.

Squad

Players to Watch

Ana “Clara” Guell
Despite highlighting the Nacional players above, I want to single out Clara Guell, who followed Belen Aquino to Internacional in Brazil. She’s not reached the level of performance that Aquino has, but she’s started to see minutes for Internacional’s top side. I’m excited to see if she can stamp her name on this tournament.

Outlook

I anticipate Uruguay will be left out, but I won’t be shocked if they move on. I think this is trickier of the two groups specifically because four of the five teams are fairly close, and it will come down to execution. I have a feeling Paraguay, Chile, and Colombia have more going on, but Uruguay have it in them to beat them all.

Venezuela is bringing a young squad that leverages its diaspora more than any other nation in the tournament. There is some real talent in this group, but it’s difficult to see them overcoming the stronger sides.

Squad

Players to Watch

Francelis Graterol
Despite playing behind Elexa Bahr last season with America de Cali, Graterol still saw action in the attack and score her fair share of goals. Her efforts attracted the attention of Independiente de Santa Fe, who look happy to continue to give her opportunities to score. If Venezuela can feed her, she’ll put the ball in the net.

Outlook

Aside from Graterol, most of these players did not see action at a high level. Chirinos and Neiro were on the bench for ADIFFEM in the Copa Liberatores, but they didn’t see significant minutes there. Sure, they played more in the league, but the level of competition is not the same. A number of these players were with Venezuela for the U17 competition last year, and they can pull on that experience, but just as they struggled in that competition, I expect the U20 to find the tournament difficult.

I suspect youth will be the undoing of this group, but there is some real talent on this team, especially in attack. If there’s a player set to make her mark in the way Claudia Martinez did last year, it’s Argentina’s Annika Paz.

Squad

Players to Watch

Kishi Nunez
Nunez is an established talent at both the club and international level. She helped Boca Juniors reach the knockout phase of the Copa Libertadores and was one of the bright spots in an otherwise lackluster 2025 league season for the Buenos Aires club. She is one of the most experienced players in this tournament, and I’d expect that quality to show.

Annika Paz
Paz has had a bit of a meteoric rise since debuting with River Plate in 2024, but at just 17, she’s scored plenty of league goals and represented Argentina at the full national level (including scoring). She joined Inter Milan in the winter, so she’s quickly facing a bigger challenge than River Plate, but she has the tools to be a very good striker. I wouldn’t be surprised if her name is the one everyone’s discussing after this tournament.

Outlook

Group B is the weaker of the two groups, to my mind, so I expect Argentina to get out of this group. There’s the talent there make it to qualify for the U20 World Cup, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they did, but I think the final phase will prove trickier than the initial group phase. But if Paz has the kind of tournament I think she’s capable of, Argentina will be tough to outscore.

While the men’s side is having a bit of a raise, the women’s team remains the weakest in South America, and they will likely prove the weak link in the year’s tournament. This is a young side primarily based in Bolivia. A number of these players get regular time with their club teams in Bolivia, but the level of competition is comparatively low.

Squad

Players to Watch

Karla Paz
Paz has the most established career of the players on this squad. She’s represented Bolivia at the full national level, and she’s a regular starter for one of the better sides in the Bolivian league. I’m not expecting much from Bolivia, but if they cause surprises, I would expect Paz to be at the heart of it.

Outlook

All signs point to Bolivia struggling this tournament. Setting Bolivia aside, I think this group is the weaker of the two, so Bolivia may be able to get something out of a match or two, but I wouldn’t expect more than defensive draw or two.

Brazil are the favorites. They’ve won every previous edition of the tournament, and early signs point to a repeat.

Squad

Players to Watch

The Marias- Vitorinha and Dudinha
Both attacking players are establishing themselves are very good sides in Brazil. Ferroviaria and Sao Paulo both took part in last year’s Copa Libertadores. Vitorinha earned herself player of the match honors against Corinthians, but really established herself in the Copa and Paulista tournaments. Dudinha was pushing her way onto a stronger team at Ferroviaria, but saw strong minutes in the Paulista and helped in the Libertadores. There’s talent all over this squad, but I wouldn’t be surprised if these two are at the center of Brazil’s success.

Outlook

Brazil are favorites to win the tournament again. They’ve got players getting regular minutes at clubs facing tougher opposition than most other players face. There are some teams that might be able to beat them in a match, but with this tournament being round-robin league stages, it’s difficult to see anyone else out-performing this Brazil side throughout.

This is an Ecuador side with some experienced players. They’re the third oldest side in the tournament, and the squad get regular minutes for some of the stronger teams in Ecuador. Can they put it together to get to the final phase and beyond?

Squad

Players to Watch

Fiorella Pico
Pico brings a lot of experience to this Ecuador side. She features for the full Ecuador national team, and she was a key player in Independiente del Valle’s league title run and knockout round appearance in the Copa Libertadores. She’ll be getting herself all over the field trying to find the ball for Ecuador. If they have a good run, Pico will surely be at the center of it.

Maite Zambrano
I’ve not really highlighted any defenders to this point, so I wanted to make it a point to note Zambrano. She’s a capable defender with good sense of positioning, decent feet, and good passing. She’s a fixture in Universidad Catolica’s defense. At 17, that’s no small feet for one of the strong sides in Ecuador. I expect to see here playing at higher levels in the upcoming years.

Outlook

Ecuador have enough talent to get through the initial group stage. I’m not sure they’ll beat Brazil or Argentina, but they should be able to handle the rest of the sides in this, and they may be able to get results off of those stronger sides. If Ecuador can play at the top of their level throughout, they’ll see themselves in the U20 World Cup, but I have a feeling they’ll be one of the outsiders in the final phase.

Peru have turned to their diaspora to build out this squad. Many of the players from US universities have represented Peru at the U17 level, so they’re familiar with the system, but despite their efforts in finding talent, this looks a difficult task for la bicolor.

Squad

Players to Watch

Aldana Rodriguez
Rodriguez hit the scene in 2025 at 15 years old, getting herself minutes for Alianza Lima’s full side as well as scoring a hat trick in the U17 South American championships. She’s still a young talent, but she’s shown early signs of having a lot of potential. I suspect Peru will largely struggle in this group, but look for Rodriguez to be a bright spot for the side.

Outlook

Having Bolivia in the group means Peru probably won’t finish bottom, but I do expect them to struggle. Part of the problem is that I don’t see this group coming together and finding cohesion. Even if there is individual talent, it’s not clear that they’ll be able to bring that together to win enough matches to progress to the final phase, let alone reach the U20 World Cup.

There are lot of exciting players to watch in this tournament, and I’m excited to see if some newer names can have big tournaments. History suggests there may not be a lot of surprise in the winner, but that’s not really the reason to watch. South American talent used to be fairly restricted to Brazil. With more investment, other nations are producing more and more talent across the continent, and the U20 South American Championship will showcase a number of rising stars.

Where to Watch

The matches can be streamed for free on Vix. The first matches take place on Wednesday, February 4th at 3:45pm eastern.

The tournament kicks off with Uruguay vs Venezuela and Paraguay vs Chile, so we will have good action from day 1. I hope you can find a chance to catch a few matches.