Morocco beaten by Germany but remain in contention at U17 Women’s World Cup

Morocco’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the U17 Women’s World Cup remain alive despite a 4-2 defeat by Germany in Sale on Tuesday.

The Lioncelles de l’Atlas had opened their home tournament with an emphatic 4-0 victory over New Zealand, but they were unable to follow that result with another win against a strong German side.

Germany took control of the Group A contest at the Complexe Mohammed VI de football, imposing their tempo from the opening stages. Marie Kleemann broke the deadlock in the 27th minute before Lena-Joy Martens doubled the advantage seven minutes later.

Morocco’s position became even more difficult in first-half stoppage time, when Clara Choisy scored Germany’s third goal to send the visitors into the interval with a 3-0 lead.

The German team extended that advantage five minutes after the restart. Mia Giesen converted a penalty in the 50th minute to put the result beyond Morocco’s immediate reach.

Youness Rabie’s players responded positively, however, and showed greater attacking intent in the second half. Nessma Mouradi, who had also scored against New Zealand, pulled one goal back in the 64th minute.

Mouradi then scored again from the penalty spot in the fifth minute of added time, completing her brace and giving Morocco a more encouraging finish to a match in which they had been under pressure for long periods.

The late response was not enough to prevent defeat, but it ensured Morocco left the game on a less damaging note than the scoreline had appeared to suggest at half-time.

Germany’s victory represents another strong start to the tournament. They had already defeated Argentina in their opening Group A fixture and now have two wins from two matches.

Morocco remain on three points after their first two games. Their goal difference is still positive because of the size of their opening victory over New Zealand.

Qualification for the next phase is therefore still within reach before the group stage concludes. Morocco must now recover quickly from their first loss and seek a result against Argentina in their third match.

Alternatively, they could qualify by finishing among the best third-placed teams from the groups, as they did last year.