Morocco set to Kick Off the U-17 Women’s World Cup Against Brazil in style
The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2025™ is ready for its curtain-raiser, marking the first time the global showpiece event has landed on the African continent. The host nation, Morocco, faces a baptism of fire in Group A, as they line up against perennial contenders Brazil to officially kick off the tournament.
The highly anticipated opening fixture takes place at the Olympic Stadium Annex Sports Complex Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat today.
The Form Guide: Atlas Lionesses vs. The Seleção
Anwar Mghinia’s U17 Atlas Lionesses are gearing up to dig deep and deliver a commanding performance on their home turf. They’ll need to be at their absolute best to stifle a formidable Brazilian attack. The Seleção will be looking to make amends for their premature group stage exit at the Dominican Republic 2024 edition, eager to hit the ground running in Rabat and lay down a marker for the tournament.
In the Players’ Own Words
The players are fully aware of the magnitude of this opening tie.
“It’s not every day that you get to feature in a World Cup, especially when it’s on your home patch. We’re going to try to leave everything out there so that we have no regrets at the final whistle. We know Brazil is a footballing superpower, but we’ve drilled for this match. We’ve scouted their system of play and we train religiously to counteract it. With a little work, we’ll get there and stand our ground.”
Maissane Ferkous, Morocco defender
“Let’s hope we put in an excellent shift and clinch the vital three points. We’re going to remain laser-focused on our game plan and the tactical instructions from the coach. God willing, we’ll secure the victory and get a great result.”Evelin, Brazil strikerKey Stats and Historical Head-to-Head
Brazil will be making their eighth appearance at the U-17 Women’s World Cup. Only Japan and New Zealand have more caps in this competition (nine each). This is the second stint for the host nation, Morocco, after their debut in 2022.
The Seleção have reached the quarter-final stage of the tournament four times, most recently in 2022.
Morocco is attempting to shatter the historical drought for host nations. All eight of the previous hosts (New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Azerbaijan, Costa Rica, Jordan, Uruguay, India and the Dominican Republic) have crashed out at the group stage. The Atlas Lionesses aim to be the first to progress to the knockout rounds.
The first game of the tournament at India 2022 was also a Group A clash between these two sides, with Brazil edging it with a narrow 1-0 victory.
Will Morocco be able to leverage the home advantage and secure a famous result, or will Brazil’s experience allow them to dominate proceedings and take the early lead in Group A?
