It was a disappointing opening weekend for Africa at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, as Nigeria, Morocco, and Cameroon all suffered defeats in their first group-stage matches.
Host nation Morocco began their campaign on a sour note, falling 3-0 to Brazil on Friday, October 17.
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The Lionesses struggled to cope with Brazil’s attacking intensity despite strong home support in Rabat.
On Saturday, Cameroon were involved in a thrilling encounter but eventually lost 4-3 to the Netherlands after a dramatic second-half collapse.
The Central Africans showed promise in attack but were undone by defensive lapses in key moments.
Nigeria’s Flamingos endured a similar fate on Sunday, going down 4-1 to Canada.
Despite an encouraging first-half performance that included an equalizer from Queen Joseph, the North Americans proved too clinical after the break.
Elsewhere, Zambia narrowly lost 2-1 to Paraguay, meaning all four African representatives failed to secure a win in the opening round.
The continent’s teams will now look to bounce back strongly in their second group fixtures as they aim to keep their qualification hopes alive.
All Matchday one Results
Friday October 17
Morocco 0-3 Brazil
Saturday October 18
China 5-0 Norway
Italy 3-0 Costa Rica
Cameroon 3-4 Netherlands
North Korea 2-0 Mexico
USA 3-0 Ecuador
Sunday October 19
Japan 3-0 New Zealand
South Korea 1-1 Cote d’Ivoire
France 4-2 Samoa
Nigeria 1-4 Canada
Spain 4-0 Colombia
Zambia 1-2 Paraguay.
