🚨 The U17 World Cup begins on Monday in Qatar, with 10 African reps.
[THREAD on what’s historic and a few bits 🧵]
The Ten:
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
🇨🇮 Cote d’Ivoire
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇲🇱 Mali
🇲🇦 Morocco
🇸🇳 Senegal
🇿🇦 South Africa
🇹🇳 Tunisia
🇺🇬 Uganda
🇿🇲 Zambia
🏆 Africa’s 10 teams at this World Cup is the highest ever from the continent, thanks to the expansion to 48 teams.
Big question: Will the 10 justify the ask for more teams from Africa by going far?
There’s a mix of experienced nations + debutants who could make a case…
●Bronze-medallists in 2023, 🇲🇱 Mali’s pedigree in recent youth tournaments continues to be solid. Can they join Ghana and Nigeria as the only African winners of the U17 World Cup?
Expect them to qualify from Group L against New Zealand, Austria and Saudi Arabia.
●🇺🇬 Uganda is making a maiden appearance at any Fifa World Cup tournament (of any age). They’re drawn in Group K with France, Chile, and Canada.
Exciting times for Ugandan youth football after significant showings at age-grade tournaments in the last half-decade.
● For 🇿🇲 Zambia, it’s a first U-17 World Cup. What’s notable about them is the sheer variety of scorers they have spread across the team. At the AFCON, they had six different scorers.
Brazil, Honduras, and Indonesia are their Group H mates.
● 🇹🇳 Tunisia is no newbie at global age-grade tournaments, but they don’t usually make waves.
Having Argentina, Belgium, and Fiji will be a stern test of their advancement hopes in Group D.
●Reigning African champ, 🇲🇦 Morocco, have all eyes on them as the country’s progress at almost every level makes them targets.
Coached by rising star coach Nabil Baha, they kick off on Monday against Japan at 14:30 (GMT+1), in a Group B also featuring Portugal and New Caledonia.
● 🇨🇮 Cote d’Ivoire is one of Africa’s U17 youth factories that strangely is unable to translate the talent on the big stage. They showed promise at the AFCON, but can they do it in Group F against Mexico, South Korea and Switzerland?
● 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso scored their highest-ever goal tally at an U17 AFCON (12) this year.
Being first African team to qualify, it’s a great chance to carry that momentum into Group I against the USA, Tajikistan, and Czechia. Also, they’re unbeaten in 8 open-play matches at finals.
● African champs in 1997, this will be 🇪🇬 Egypt’s third WC appearance, after 1987 (group stage) and 1997 (quarters).
This team were completely written off early in qualifying but battled to book a place via playoffs. Find them in Group E with England, Venezuela, and Haiti.
●After a decade away, the Amajimbo are back on the world stage with a team built on domestic academy talent, speed, and very attacking.
Group A (Qatar, Italy, and Bolivia) will be exciting with them. Big boys at COSAFA level, can 🇿🇦 South Africa replicate at the top stage?
🗓 Key dates to note:
- Group stage: November 3 to 11
- Round of 32: November 14 and 15
- Round of 16: November 18
- Quarterfinals: November 21
- Semifinals: November 24
- Third-place playoff: November 27
- Final: November 27, at the Khalifa International Stadium
🌍 Africa’s road to the final?
The top two in each of 12 groups + eight best third-placed sides qualify for the round of 32.
From there, we see a knockout format, featuring the round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final.
As mentioned atop the thread, only Ghana (2) and Nigeria (5) have won an U17 Fifa World Cup.
1985 – Nigeria 🇳🇬
1991 – Ghana 🇬🇭
1993 – Nigeria 🇳🇬
1995 – Ghana 🇬🇭
2007 – Nigeria 🇳🇬
2013 – Nigeria 🇳🇬
2015 – Nigeria 🇳🇬
The two nations did not qualify for this one.
Good luck, team CAF!
[Gary Al Smith]
