orocco’s under-17 women will play the round of 16 of their home World Cup against North Korea on Wednesday, October 28, at three in the afternoon, at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Maamora, Sale. The bracket, settled on Sunday evening after the last group matchday, ranks the Moroccan side among the four best third-placed teams of the first round. After a convincing start against New Zealand (4-0), the Moroccans had lost to Germany (2-4) and then heavily to Argentina (1-5), finishing Group A with three points, behind the Germans and the Argentines.
The opponent is no small one. The defending champions, North Korea topped Group B with six points, two lopsided wins over Puerto Rico (6-0) and Poland (6-1) outweighing a defeat to Nigeria (1-3). The tie above all has a familiar ring: a year ago to the day, on October 28, 2025, at the same stage of the same competition, already held in Morocco, the North Koreans knocked the Moroccans out (6-1) before going on to lift the trophy against the Netherlands (3-0). The winner of this tie will play the quarterfinals on November 1, and the final will be held on November 7.
Photo: Wikimedia Morocco, CC BY-SA 4.0.
FIFA - DPR Korea v Morocco, Round of 16, FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2026
FIFA - Argentina v Morocco 5-1, Group A
FIFA - Korea DPR v Morocco 6-1, Round of 16, FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2025
