African champions Morocco recorded the largest victory in FIFA Under-17 World Cup history by defeating nine-man New Caledonia 16-0 in their Group B clash in Al Rayyan on Sunday, though they still await confirmation on whether they have qualified for the Round of 32.
South Africa secured their place in the next stage despite a 3-1 loss to Italy, finishing second in Group B, while Senegal topped Group C following a 5-0 win over the United Arab Emirates.
Morocco’s 16-0 win surpasses Spain’s 13-0 victory over New Zealand in 1997, which had previously been the biggest margin in the tournament’s history. Unfortunately for New Caledonia, their heavy defeat adds to prior losses of 0-10 against England and 0-9 against Brazil in 2023, though they had drawn 0-0 with Japan earlier in this year’s competition.
Remarkably, Morocco had 10 different scorers in the match, with no player scoring more than two goals. Oualid Ibn Salah, Abdelali Eddaoudi, Ziyad Baha, Nahël Haddani, Abdellah Ouazane, and Ismail El Aoud each scored twice, while Bilal Soukrat, Ilyas Hidaoui, and Zakari El Khalfioui scored once each, alongside an own goal by Steevy Andrew. Two New Caledonia players were sent off in the first half.
Morocco finished third in their group after losing their first two games, ending with three points, but a +8 goal difference significantly boosts their chances of advancing to the Round of 32. Tunisia faces a similar situation, finishing third in Group D with three points and a +3 goal difference after a 2-0 loss to Belgium.
Senegal’s victory over UAE featured a hat-trick from Bakary Sonko, with El Hadji Cisse and Victor Mendy also on the scoresheet. South Africa’s lone goal in their loss to Italy came from Shaun Els, who scored his second goal of the tournament to briefly level the match in the first half.
