2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup

The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup which was hosted by Egypt. The competition was from 24 September to 16 October 2009. The tournament was initially going to take place between 10 and 31 July. The 2009 Confederations Cup was played mid year resulting in both the 2009 Under-20 and the Under-17 World Cup being played towards the end of the year. The cup was won by Ghana after they defeated Brazil on a penalty shoot-out in the final.
Player eligibility.
Only players born on or after 1 January 1989 were eligible to compete in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Qualification.
Twenty-three teams qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. As the host team, Egypt received automatic entry to the cup, bringing the total number of teams to twenty-four for the tournament.
Allocation of teams to groups.
Teams were allocated to groups on the basis of geographical spread. Teams were placed in four pots, and one team was drawn from each pot for each group. Pot 1 contained the five African teams plus one from CONMEBOL; Pot 2 contained the remaining teams from the Americas excluding one CONCACAF team; Pot 3 consisted of teams from Asia and Oceania plus the remaining CONCACAF team; Pot 4 consisted of teams from the European confederation.
Group stage.
The draw for the group stages was held on 5 April 2009 at Luxor Temple. Each group winner and runner-up teams, as well as the best four third-placed teams, qualified for the first round of the knockout stage (round of 16).