Morocco face anxious wait for Women’s U17 World Cup knockout place

Morocco’s hopes of reaching the last 16 of the Women’s U17 World Cup are hanging in the balance after a heavy 5-1 defeat by Argentina on Friday.

The hosts needed only a draw in their final Group A fixture to secure direct progression, having opened the tournament with a 4-0 victory over New Zealand on 17 October. But, after losing 4-2 to Germany on Tuesday, the Atlas Lionesses were beaten again at the Complexe Mohammed VI de football in Rabat.

Argentina, making their debut in the competition, took control during a one-sided first half. Youness Rabie’s side conceded four times before the interval, with Argentina scoring in the 14th, 29th, 35th and 45th+2 minutes.

The result leaves Morocco without control of their own qualification prospects. They were overtaken in the Group A standings by the South Americans and dropped to third place.

Nessma Mouradi, the 17-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward, pulled a goal back for Morocco in the 58th minute. She had also scored the Moroccan side’s only goal in their defeat by Germany earlier in the week.

However, Mouradi’s effort did not spark a recovery, and Argentina restored their four-goal advantage when they scored again in the 73rd minute.

Germany finished top of the group with a perfect record of nine points from nine after beating New Zealand 2-0. Argentina move through as the group’s other automatic qualifier, while Morocco must now wait for the remaining group results.

The Moroccan team will discover whether they have done enough to advance once Groups C, D, E and F have been completed. They need to be among the four best third-placed teams to reach the knockout stage.

Morocco faced the same route at the previous edition of the tournament, when they also had to wait for results elsewhere before securing a place in the elimination rounds.