African representatives at the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2025 face a tough battle to stay in the competition, Sports247 reports.
All four teams now, Morrocco, Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Zambia, relying on the third-best qualification route after a disappointing Matchday 2.
Read Also: 2026 WAFCONQ: Team Captain Rasheedat Ajibade Joins Super Falcons Camp Ahead of Benin Republic Clash
After two rounds of group matches, Côte d’Ivoire remains the only African side with a point — following their opening 1–1 draw — while Morocco, Nigeria, and Zambia ended their matcday two without a point.
Each team must now win their final group match and hope results elsewhere go in their favor to progress.
It was another difficult outing for the continent on Tuesday as hosts Morocco and Cameroon both suffered defeats in their second group games.
Morocco fell 3–1 to Italy, while Cameroon conceded a stoppage-time goal to lose 2–1 against Korea DPR, extending Africa’s winless run in the tournament.
Morocco conceded twice in the opening 13 minutes, with Giulia Galli scoring a brace for Italy before Rachele Giudici added a third.
Dounia-El Yakout El Mesmoudi netted Morocco’s first goal of the tournament, a late consolation, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Italy from sealing qualification to the knockout stage.
Midfielder Romasan Alhssan praised her side’s effort despite the defeat:
“We gave everything until the end despite the score. We have the youngest team in the tournament, and we’re still learning.”
In Group B, Cameroon’s heartbreak came deep into stoppage time when Kim Won-sim scored a dramatic 98th-minute header to hand Korea DPR a comeback victory. Cameroon had led through Lys Tiwa’s first-half strike, but the defending champions rallied to claim all three points.
Goalkeeper Jessica Mabou expressed her disappointment:
“We gave it everything and deserved something, but we came away with nothing. It’s not over yet.”
Elsewhere, Mexico stunned the Netherlands 1–0 courtesy of Citlalli Reyes’s late long-range strike, while Ecuador defeated Norway 2–0 to revive their qualification hopes.
In Group A, Costa Rica goalkeeper Valeria Fernandez saved a stoppage-time penalty to secure a 1–1 draw with Brazil, keeping her team’s campaign alive.
With both Morocco and Cameroon still searching for their first wins, they now face must-win final group matches to avoid early elimination.
On Wednesday, Africa’s woes deepened as Nigeria, Zambia, and Côte d’Ivoire all suffered defeats in their respective fixtures.
A late strike from Maissa Fathallah handed France a narrow 1–0 victory over Nigeria, confirming Les Bleuettes’ place in the round of 16.
Nigeria showed marked improvement from their earlier loss to Canada, with goalkeeper Elizabeth Boniface producing several key saves.
However, Fathallah’s low drive in the 81st minute proved decisive.
Coach Bankole Olowookere reflected on the setback:
“The game against France was much better than the one against Canada. If we’d shown the same fight earlier, our situation would be different. Conceding late was painful, but we’ll keep working to stay in the tournament.”
In Group C, Côte d’Ivoire failed to build on their promising start, falling 3–0 to Colombia.
The South Americans, rebounding from defeat to Spain, dominated the match with goals from Ana Clavijo (22’), London Crawford (80’), and Ella Martinez (90+5’) to seal their first victory. Côte d’Ivoire must now win their final game to stand any chance of advancing.
Zambia also suffered a setback, losing 2–0 to a clinical Japan side that secured qualification with their second straight win.
Goals from Honoka Sunaga (69’) and Noa Fukushima (86’ pen) sealed the result against a 10-player Zambian team that struggled to cope with Japan’s relentless pressure.
After two rounds of group matches, all four African teams — Morocco, Nigeria, Zambia, and Côte d’Ivoire — remain winless.
They now face decisive final group games this weekend, with Africa’s hopes of survival at the Morocco 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup hanging by a thread.
