DOHA: African champions Morocco made history with the biggest-ever victory at a FIFA Under-17 World Cup, crushing nine-man New Caledonia 16-0 in their Group B clash in Al Rayyan on Sunday. Despite the record-breaking triumph, Morocco must still wait to learn whether they advance to the Round of 32.
The win surpasses Spain’s 13-0 rout of New Zealand in 1997, the previous largest margin in the tournament’s history. New Caledonia, who had earned a 0-0 draw with Japan earlier in the competition, now occupy several unwanted places on the all-time list — also suffering 0-10 and 0-9 defeats to England and Brazil respectively in 2023.
Morocco’s dominance was shared across the team, with 10 different scorers and no player netting more than twice. Oualid Ibn Salah, Abdelali Eddaoudi, Ziyad Baha, Nahël Haddani, Abdellah Ouazane, and Ismail El Aoud all grabbed braces, while Bilal Soukrat, Ilyas Hidaoui, and Zakari El Khalfioui each scored once. The rout was capped by an own goal from Steevy Andrew.
Despite losing their opening two matches, Morocco’s massive result leaves them third in Group B with three points and an impressive +8 goal difference, giving them strong hopes of progressing as one of the best third-placed teams.
Elsewhere, South Africa advanced despite a 3-1 defeat to Italy, finishing second in Group B. Shaun Els scored his second goal of the tournament to level the match before Italy pulled away.
In Group C, Senegal topped the standings after a 5-0 demolition of the United Arab Emirates, with Bakary Sonko netting a hat-trick and El Hadji Cisse plus Victor Mendy adding one each.
Tunisia, meanwhile, face an anxious wait after a 2-0 loss to Belgium left them third in Group D with three points and a +3 goal difference.
It was a historic day for African football — led by Morocco’s stunning record-breaker, with three African nations still in strong contention for the knockout rounds.
