Spain are the 2026 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup champions after beating defending holders DPR Korea 4–3 on penalties following a goalless final in Łódź, Poland. FIFA’s official final report and its official match centre list the score as 0–0 with Spain winning the shootout; ESPN’s independent report and The Equalizer’s final account independently confirm the result. The final was played on Sunday 27 September in Poland and its completion fell inside this desk’s 28 September Asia/Kolkata reporting window.
The contest went through regular time and extra time without a goal. FIFA and both independent reports agree that Spain prevailed 4–3 from the spot, rather than in open play. That distinction matters: the match should be recorded as a 0–0 draw decided by a penalty shootout, with Spain the tournament winner. The official record places the final at Stadion Miejski ŁKS Łódź; ESPN and The Equalizer also identify Łódź as the setting for the decider.
Goalkeeper Laia López supplied the defining contribution in the shootout. FIFA says she saved attempts by Choe Yon-a and Pak Il-sim, while ESPN independently identifies the same two saves. The result delivered Spain’s second Under-20 women’s world title, after its 2022 success, and ended DPR Korea’s attempt to retain the championship it won in 2024. Those title-history points are also aligned across FIFA, ESPN and The Equalizer, so this is a completed championship result rather than a provisional tournament update.
This update is deliberately confined to the final’s verified outcome and shootout turning point. It does not infer a senior-national-team result from a youth competition or make broader claims about rankings or future selection. For a separate Football explainer, see our guide to how football penalty shoot-outs can finish before five kicks.
