International experience at this year’s U20 World Cup

By: Ian Rose | June 27th, 2007

Well, we are less than a week away now from the kickoff of the 2007 Under-20 World Cup in Canada, where Scotland will be making its first junior World Cup appearance in 20 years. Following my obsession with both football and obscure statistics, I decided to take a look at how many of the youngsters from various teams in this year’s U20 play on professional clubs in other countries. This little report isn’t totally complete, because it only includes the 18 rosters I could find online, but it gives some idea for the depth of international club experience coming to Canada for the tournament.

In all, the 18 rosters contain players from 15 foreign professional leagues. The most heavily represented league (not surprisingly) is the English Premiership / Championship / League. There are 16 players from 13 English clubs on 9 different national teams, half of the teams examined. More surprisingly, at least to me, Canada is the roster with the most international club experience, drawing 11 players from 11 different clubs in 5 foreign leagues. If there’s something to be said for holding on to home-grown talent, Spain has a bright future, as all of their U20 roster is on Spanish pro squads. Here’s some data for your trivia pleasure:

By League:
England: 16 Players from 13 clubs on 9 foreign National Teams
Spain: 8 Players from 6 clubs on 6 foreign National Teams
Germany: 7 Players from 6 clubs on 5 foreign National Teams
Italy: 4 Players from 4 clubs on 4 foreign National Teams
France: 6 Players from 3 clubs on 3 foreign National Teams
Norway: 3 Players from 3 clubs on 2 foreign National Teams
Netherlands: 3 Players from 3 clubs on 2 foreign National Teams
Japan: 2 Players from 2 clubs on 1 foreign National Team
Belgium: 2 Players from 2 clubs on 1 foreign National Team
Scotland: 1 Player from 1 club on 1 foreign National Team
Mexico: 1 Player from 1 club on 1 foreign National Team
Portugal: 1 Player from 1 club on 1 foreign National Team
Russia: 1 Player from 1 club on 1 foreign National Team
Ukraine: 1 Player from 1 club on 1 foreign National Team
Morocco: 1 Player from 1 club on 1 foreign National Team

By National Team:
Canada: 11 Players from 11 clubs in 5 Foreign Leagues (+3 in US Colleges)
Brazil: 5 Players from 5 clubs in 5 Foreign Leagues
Poland: 8 Players from 8 clubs in 4 Foreign Leagues
Chile: 5 Players from 5 clubs in 4 Foreign Leagues
Portugal: 3 Players from 3 clubs in 3 Foreign Leagues
USA: 3 Players from 3 clubs in 3 Foreign Leagues
Nigeria: 4 Players from 4 Clubs in 2 Foreign Leagues
Argentina: 3 Players from 3 clubs in 2 Foreign Leagues
Gambia: 2 Players from 2 Clubs in 2 Foreign Leagues
South Korea: 2 Players from 2 clubs in 2 Foreign Leagues
Mexico: 2 Players from 2 clubs in 2 Foreign leagues
Czech Republic: 2 Players from 2 clubs in 2 Foreign Leagues
Congo: 4 Players from 1 Club in 1 Foreign League
New Zealand: 1 Player from 1 club in 1 Foreign League (+4 in US Colleges)
Scotland: 1 Player from 1 club in 1 Foreign League
Austria: 1 Player from 1 club in 1 Foreign League
Spain: 0 foreign club players (All on Spanish teams)