FIFA U20 World Cup Packages

The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 17th tournament to be contested, will be hosted by Egypt from September 25 to October 16, in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said and Ismaïlia. The tournament was initially going to take place in June-July, traditionally, however the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup will be played mid year resulting in both the Under 18 World Cup and the Under 17 World Cup to be played towards the end of the year. The current champion is Argentina who surprisingly failed to qualify for the tournament. The Final Draw for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009, held on 5 April in Luxor, has thrown up six intriguing groups with any number of mouth-watering clashes. The leading FIFA competition for juniors takes place from 24 September until 16 October in the five host cities of Alexandria, Ismailia, Cairo, Port Said and Suez. The draw ceremony at the Temple of Luxor was attended by a large number of VIP guests. FIFA Director of Competitions Jim Brown conducted the draw, assisted by Shawki Gharieb, assistant coach of Egypt's national team, Aya Medany, the female modern pentathlon world champion, and a trio of distinguished former Egypt internationals: Hazem Emam, Hady Khashaba and Taher Abou Zeid. The team making the draw conjured up a string of fascinating encounters at the group stage. European champions Germany must contend with USA, South American top dogs Brazil face the challenge posed by Czech Republic, and African champions Ghana will take on England. Hosts Egypt will meet Trinidad and Tobago in the opening match on Thursday 24 September at the Egyptian Army Stadium in Alexandria. FIFA U-20 World Cup 2009 groups: Group A (Cairo) Egypt Trinidad & Tobago Paraguay Italy Group B (Cairo) Nigeria Venezuela Spain Tahiti Group C (Suez) USA Germany Cameroon Korea Republic Group D (Ismailia) Ghana Uzbekistan England Uruguay Group E (Port Said) Brazil Costa Rica Czech Republic Australia Group F (Alexandria) United Arab Emirates South Africa Honduras Hungary