Latest news with #FIFAUnder-17WorldCup
RTÉ News
25-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Republic of Ireland U17s group confirmed for November's World Cup
The Republic of Ireland have discovered their group opponents for the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar. Colin O'Brien's young Boys in Green, have drawn Paraguay, Uzbekistan and Panama in Group J for the underage global competition. The squad will head to Qatar in November for what is Ireland's first appearance at an Under-17s World Cup and will begin the tournament by facing Panama. They will then take on Uzbekistan, then followed by Paraguay on match day three. It is the first time the tournament will have 48 teams. The top two teams in each group, along with the eight best third-placed sides, will qualify for the round of 32. From the round of 32 onwards, the tournament will be played in a knock-out format. CONFIRMED | Ireland MU17s' World Cup Group for the U17 World Cup in Qatar 🏆 Colin O'Brien's team have been drawn against Paraguay, Uzbekistan and Panama in Group J 🇵🇾🇺🇿🇵🇦🇮🇪 The Tournament begins November 3 #IRLU17 | #COYBIG — Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) May 25, 2025 Speaking after the draw, Ireland head coach Colin O'Brien said: "There are 48 teams represented at the draw and I'm proud to see Ireland among them. "It's exciting and very intriguing coming up against different countries from different confederations. We've Asian, South American and Central American opposition and it will be a superb experience for the players and the staff. "I always say that often people judge young international sides by their senior teams but you never know, a team could have a special group of players who we so happen to be coming up against. "The draw is done, so the hard work for the tournament begins tomorrow. We have our opening game date, we have our opponents and we'll be looking forward to the World Cup." Ireland qualified for the tournament after being the best runners-up in UEFA U-17 Euros qualification. While missing out on the Euros competition, their 5-0 win over Iceland secured their spot in Qatar. The Under-17s' first preparation games for the World Cup will begin next month when they head to Croatia for three friendlies against Norway, Türkiye and Croatia.
CAF
07-04-2025
- Sport
- CAF
MATCH FACTS: Angola look for big win in final Group D clash at TotalEnergies CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025
Angola need a big win over the Cemtral African Republic (CAR) to stand a chance of making the quarter-finals of the TotalEnergies CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025 when they meet in their final Group D game at the Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium in El Jadida on Monday (kick-off 17:00 local time / 16:00 GMT). CAR cannot make the knockout stages, but a win would put them into the play-offs for the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup as a third-place finisher in the pool. Angola have a single point from their two games and a -1 goal-difference. They must win bit and hope second-placed Cote d'Ivoire (4 points, +5 goal-difference) suffer a heavy defeat to Mali. This is the first meeting between the nations at the finals. Angola are facing Central African opponents for the second time, their only previous meeting was against Cameroon in the semi-finals in 2019. The game ended 0-0 before they lost 4-3 in the shoot-out. Angola's record against tournament debutants reads P4 W1 D1 L2. They have faced tournament debutants previously in 1997 they drew with Zimbabwe 1-1 and lost 4-3 to Ethiopia. While in 2017 they lost to Tanzania 2-1, they won their last game against a debutant against Uganda in 2019. All these games have been at the group stages. ANGOLA FACTS · Angola began with a loss to Mali and then drew with Cote d'Ivoire 0-0 in their last group game. · Their goalless draw against the Ivorians was the first time in 14 group games at the finals that Angola had been involved in a game that did not produce goals. Their 0-0 stalemate was Angola's second goalless draw at the finals along with their 2019 semi-final, which they lost on penalties. · Angola's third group game has traditionally been a high scoring encounter. In 2017 they lost 6-1 against Mali and in 2019 they won 4-2 against Tanzania. · Angola's four previous final group games have produced a combined 20 goals, averaging at five goals per game with them scoring 9 and conceding 11. · Should Angola win it will be the second time along with 2019 that they have won at least one game in the group stages. Should they fail to win they would exit the tournament for the second time winless in the group stages along with 2017. · In their other group stage exits in 1997 and 1999, Angola had won at least one game. · In 2017, when Angola exited at the group stage, they lost two games and drew one. · Progression to the next round will see Angola reach the knockout stage for the second time, along with 2019. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC FACT · CAR lost their opening game against Cote d'Ivoire 6-1 and then lost 2-0 against Mali. · CAR are still searching for their first points at the current finals. · They are facing Southern African opponents for the first time at the finals. · Should they fail to win, CAR will join Somalia as the second successive debutant to fail to win a game. In 2023 Somalia drew one match and lost two others. · Defeat for CAR will see them become the first debutant since Eritrea in 2007 to lose all three of their group games. · In their loss to Mali, they had two players, Nelson Amadi and Chrispin Ngombe, sent off in the 44th and 64th minutes. They played the final 26 minutes of the game with nine men. · CAR have had a player sent off in each of their games thus far. Guidat Henzo was also red-carded in their 6-1 loss against Cote d'Ivoire. · No other country has had as many players sent off as CAR. Tanzania are the only other country at the current finals with more than one player having received a red card. · Against Mali they managed to have four shots on target, the most they have had in a single game at the current finals. In their opening game they could only manage one shot on target. · In their loss to Mali they managed to have just 27% of the possession, their lowest percentage across their two games. In their opening game they had 40% of the possession.
CAF
07-04-2025
- Sport
- CAF
MATCH FACTS: Senegal seek top spot in Group C at TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025
Senegal will hope to seal top spot in Group C at the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025 when they tale on already eliminated Somalia at the Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium in El Jadida on Monday (kick-off 19:00 local time / 18:00 GMT). Senegal have four points from their opening two matches in the pool, and are level with pool leaders Tunisia, who take on The Gambia in their final clash. The top two teams in each group advance to the quarter-finals and book a place at the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, while the teams that finish third enter a play-off for the two remaining places at the global finals. This is the second meeting between Senegal and Somalia at the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 AFCON. The nations met at the 2023 finals in their final game in the pool, with Senegal already qualified for the knockout rounds after wins over Algeria and Congo. Senegal won the meeting 3-0 as they eventually becoming champions, while Somalia exited at the group stages. During their clash at the 2023 finals, Said Mohamed scored an own goal, the first by a Somali player at the finals, while Amara Diouf and Yaya Dieme scored two more. Somalia, playing their sixth game at the finals, will see Senegal become the first team that they have faced more than once. SOMALIA FACTS · Somalia lost their opening two games against Tunisia 3-0 and Gambia 5-1. · Somalia have lost their opening two games at the finals for the first time. In 2023, they drew their second game 1-1 against Congo, while losing their first to Algeria and third to Senegal. · Somalia have now lost their last three games at the finals, starting with their final group game in 2023. · Somalia have never won a game at the finals (D1 L5) and are yet to keep a clean-sheet. · Somalia have conceded eight goals at the current finals, more than they did in their debut tournament when they let in six goals in three games. They also scored one goal in 2023. · Somalia's 5-1 loss to Gambia in their last group game was their biggest defeat at the finals. The first time they had lost by four goals and conceded five goals at the finals. · Despite losing to Gambia 5-1 in their last game, Somalia had 58% of the possession. It was only the second time at the finals along with their opening game loss against Algeria (52.1%) in 2023 that they have had more than 50% of the possession. · Somalia faced nine shots on target in their loss to Gambia, the most they have faced at the current finals in a single game. SENEGAL FACTS · Senegal are now nine games at the finals without a loss. They last were defeated by Guinea in their second group game in 2019 (W6 D3). · Senegal have conceded just two goals in their last eight games at the finals. These came in their 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso in the 2023 semi-finals and in their 2-1 win against Morocco in the 2023 final. · Senegal have not conceded a goal in their last six group games at the finals, starting with their 0-0 draw against Cameroon in their final group game in 2019. · Senegal last conceded a goal in the group stages in 2019 in the 80th minute of their 2-1 loss to Guinea in their second group game. Since then they have played 549 minutes at the group stages without conceding. · Senegal have won their opening two group games for the second finals in a row. Victory will see them win all three group games for the second time along with 2023. · Should Senegal avoid defeat they will go unbeaten through the group stages for a second time along with 2023. · Senegal had four shots on target in their 0-0 draw with Tunisia in their second game. They prevented their opponents from having a single shot on target in the game. · Senegal had 67% of the possession in their draw with Tunisia in their second group game. · In both their group games Senegal have managed to make over 400 passes. In their opening game they attempted 405 passes against Gambia and 444 in their second game against Tunisia. · Ibrahima Aidara completed 57 passes against Tunisia, the most by any player in the game. · Senegal have never conceded a goal or lost in their final group game. Their record reads P3 W2 D1 L0. In their final group games in 2011, Senegal defeated Rwanda 1-0, while in 2019 they drew 0-0 with Cameroon and defeated Somalia 2-0 at the last finals.
CAF
07-04-2025
- Sport
- CAF
MATCH FACTS: Top two clash in final Group D game at TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025
Mali have already sealed their place in the quarter-finals of the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025 and Monday's opponents Cote d'Ivoire will be seeking to join them when they clash at the Berrechid Municipal Stadium (kick-off 17:00 local time / 16:00 GMT). A draw will be enough to see the Ivorians advance, while even in defeat they could still go through unless Angola get a big win against Central African Republic in the other game in the pool. The top two teams in each group advance to the quarter-finals and book a place at the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, while the teams that finish third enter a play-off for the two remaining places at the global finals. Mali and Cote d'Ivoire are meeting at the TotalEnergies CAF U17 AFCON for a fourth time. All three previous meetings have taken place in the group stages. Whenever they have been drawn in the same group at the finals previously, only one team has progressed. In 1997 they drew 0-0 in their opening game with Mali progressing at the expense of Cote d'Ivoire along with Egypt. They met again in 2011, a 2-1 win for Cote d'Ivoire in their opening game in Group B that saw the Ivoirians progress as pool winners with Congo. Their most recently meeting in 2015 ended with a 1-0 win for Mali as they progressed to the next round as Group B winners with South Africa. MALI FACTS · Mali have begun with successive victories against Angola and Central African Republic, winning 2-1 and 2-0 respectively. · Mali have secured progression to the knockout stages and qualification for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup. They will appear at the global finals for a seventh time. · Mali have progressed to the knockout stages for an eighth time in their 10th finals appearance, along with 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2015, 2017 and 2023. · It is the fourth successive finals that Mali have featured in where they have gone beyond the group stages. This is the second time they have gone through four successive tournaments by reaching the knockout rounds. They also did so in 1995, 1997, 1991 and 2001 before being eliminated in the group stages in 2005 and 2011. · Mali have now won their last six group games at the finals, and are undefeated in their last 10 group games at the finals (W8 D2). · Mali last lost at the group stages of the finals in their final pool game in 2011, a 2-1 defeat against Congo. · Mali's record in their final group game reads P9 W7 L2. · In their last 17 games at the finals, Mali have lost one game in open play, which was in the play-off for third in 2023 against Burkina Faso a 2-1 loss (W12 D4). · Mali have only ever lost their final group game twice. In 1995, when already qualified for the semi-finals, they lost to Mozambique. They also lost in 2011 against Congo. Both were 2-1 defeats. · Mali have won their final group game at the last three tournaments they have participated in. COTE D'IVOIRE FACTS · Cote d'Ivoire began with a 6-1 win over Central African Republic and then drew their next game 0-0 against Angola. · Should they reach the quarter-finals, it will be the fourth time that the Cote d'Ivoire will have passed beyond the group stages, along with 2005, 2011 and 2013. · Cote d'Ivoire have been previously eliminated at the group stages in 1997 and 2015. · Progression to the next round will see Cote d'Ivoire qualify for the FIFA U17 World Cup for a fourth time. · In five previous final group games at the tournament, their record reads W2 D1 L2. · Previously in their final group game at the finals, Cote d'Ivoire won against Gambia in 2011 and South Africa in 2005, winning 4-1 and 1-0 respectively. They lost to Mali (2015) and Egypt (1997), losing 1-0 and 2-0 respectively. They drew 0-0 with Ghana in 2013. · Cote d'Ivoire won the title when Morocco were hosts in 2013. They have now played seven games in the finals in Morocco and are yet to lose (W3 D4). · At the previous finals in Morocco in 2013, Cote d'Ivoire scored five goals in five games as they went onto be champions. At the current finals they have already scored six goals. · The six goals Cote d'Ivoire have scored at the current finals is the most they have managed since netting nine in 2011. In 2013 and 2015, they scored five and four goals respectively.
CAF
05-04-2025
- Sport
- CAF
MATCH FACTS: Zambia look to book knockout spot at TotalEnergies CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025
Zambia and Uganda will hope to seal a place in the quarter-finals of the TotalEnergies CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025 when they meet in their final Group A game at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Sunday (kick-off 20:00 local time / GMT). Zambia are second in the pool on goal-difference from hosts Morocco with four points from two games, while Uganda are third with three points. The top two teams in each pool advance to the knockout rounds, and the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar, while the sides that finish third in the four pools will play-off for the two remaining spots. Neither Zambia nor Uganda can finish lower than third, no matter the result on Sunday. This will be the first meeting between Uganda and Zambia at the TotalEnergies CAF U17 AFCON. Uganda will qualify for the knockout stage with a win. Zambia will progress to the knockout stage with a draw. Uganda's only other game against a COSAFA member nation ended in a 1-0 loss against Angola in 2019 in their opening group game. For Zambia, they are facing East African opposition for a second time their only other meeting was against Tanzania in their opening game at the current finals, a 4-1 win in their opening game. UGANDA FACTS · Should Uganda win and progress to the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup it will be their first qualification for the tournament. · Uganda their opening game against hosts Morocco 5-0, but managed to bounce back and win their last game 3-0 against Tanzania. · Their win over Tanzania was Uganda's joint biggest win at the finals. Both their 3-0 triumphs have been against Tanzania in 2019 and this year. · Uganda have now won their second group game at both their finals appearances, both were against Tanzania and ended in 3-0 wins. · Uganda, in their only other third group game at the finals, drew 1-1 with Nigeria in 2019. · Should Uganda win they would have won back to back games at the finals for the first time. · Should Uganda avoid defeat they would have not lost in successive games for a second time. They also did so in 2019 when defeating Tanzania and drawing with Nigeria on matchday two and three. · Both of Uganda's clean-sheets have been kept against Tanzania, in 2019 and the current finals. · All of Uganda's six goals at the finals have been scored by different players, no Ugandan player has as yet scored multiple goals at the finals. · Uganda had nine shots on target in their win against Tanzania, the most they have had in a single game in five games at the finals. · Uganda goalkeeper Adrian Mukwanaga made five saves against Tanzania in their win 3-0 win, the most saves by a Tanzanian goalkeeper in a single game at the finals since Jack Komakech made 11 in their final group match in 2019 against Nigeria. The game ended 1-1. · Uganda's Richard Okello had a game high 74 touches in their win over Tanzania. ZAMBIA FACTS · A draw would be sufficient to see Zambia progress to the quarter-finals for the first time. In their two previous tournament appearances in 2015 and 2023, Zambia exited at the group stage. · Should Zambia progress to the quarter-finals they will have qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the first time. · Zambia won their opening game against Tanzania 4-1 and then drew their second game 0-0 against hosts Morocco. · Zambia have never previously gone through their first two games at the finals undefeated this is the first time they have done so. · Should they avoid defeat Zambia will go through three group games at the finals undefeated for the first time. · Zambia are currently three games at the final without a loss, starting with a 2-1 win in their final group game in 2023 (W2 D1). · In their 0-0 draw against Morocco it was the first time Zambia had failed to score in their second group game, in 2015 they won 2-1 against Niger and in 2023 they lost 3-2 to South Africa. · Their 0-0 draw against Morocco was the first time that Zambia had been involved in a goalless draw in eight games at the finals. · Zambia managed to keep a clean-sheet at the finals for the first time in what was their 8th game at the finals in their 0-0 draw against Morocco. · With their draw against Morocco it means that Zambia have never lost to a host nation at the tournament in two games against tournament hosts, previously in 2015 they defeated then hosts Niger 2-1 (W1 D1). · Victory for Zambia will see them win two games at a single finals for the first time in 2015 and 2023 they won one game at each tournament. · Zambia's record in their final group game at the finals reads P2 W1 L1. · In their final group games previously Zambia lost to Nigeria 3-1 in 2015 and defeated Morocco 2-1 in 2023. In 2015 they needed to defeat Nigeria to progress and in 2023 when they faced Morocco they were already eliminated, while Morocco had already progressed to the last 8.
