Morocco etched their name into FIFA U-17 World Cup history with a staggering 16–0 victory over New Caledonia in their final group stage match at Aspire Academy Pitch 1 in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday.
The Young Atlas Lions began their onslaught early, as Bilal Soukrat opened the scoring in the 3rd minute before Oualid Ibn Salah struck twice in the 11th and 18th minutes. New Caledonia’s woes deepened when Typhan Dreuko was shown a red card in the 23rd minute, followed by Jean Canehmez’s dismissal eight minutes later.
Coach Abdelhamid Baha utilized FIFA’s new green card system to contest the second red card, but after a quick VAR review, the referee upheld the decision. Reduced to nine men, New Caledonia had no answer to Morocco’s relentless attack.
Before halftime, Morocco added four more goals—two from Abdelali Eddaoudi (41′, 43′), one from Ilyas Hidaoui (44′), and another from Ziyad Baha (45+2′) to head into the break with a commanding 7–0 lead.
The second half was even more brutal. Zakari El Khalfioui (48′), Ziyad Baha (50′), Nahel Haddani (56′, 60′), Abdellah Ouazane (73′), an own goal by Steevy Andrew (76′), and a brace from Ismail El Aoud (80′, 90′) completed the record-breaking rout.
Morocco dominated with 73% possession, firing 25 shots without allowing New Caledonia a single effort on target.
Despite the emphatic victory, Morocco’s qualification for the knockout stage remains uncertain. They finish the group phase with three points and a +8 goal difference and must now await results from other groups particularly Group C (UAE, Costa Rica, Croatia, Senegal) and Group D (Qatar vs Bolivia). A win for Qatar could boost Morocco’s chances of advancing as one of the best third-placed teams.
