The FIFA Under-20 World Cup, which features players under 20 years old from all over the globe, begins in Colombia today.
Matches will be held in Barranquilla and Medellin as Colombia prepares to hold the biggest sporting event in its history. The opening ceremony will be held in Barranquilla tonight starting at 7:25PM.
This year 24 different nations are represented from five continents in the tournament. More than 2,000 journalists will cover the event and this year’s audience is expected to exceed that of 2009 which consisted of 500 million people.
In Medellin, England will face North Korea and Argentina will square off against Mexico. Austria and Panama will play each other in Cartagena, and in Baranquilla Egypt will challenge heavyweight Brazil.
The only teams to ever host and win the U-20 tournament so far were Portugal in 1991 and Argentina in 2001. Many Colombians expect their team will do well in the competition. Colombia’s first game is against France on Saturday in Bogota.