2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

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2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
2026 كأس العالم للسيدات تحت 17 سنة المغرب
Dreams in the Making
Tournament details
Host countryMorocco
Dates17 October – 7 November
Teams24 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played30
Goals scored140 (4.67 per match)
Attendance4,545 (152 per match)
Top scorer(s)United States Maddie DiMaria
(10 goals)
← 2025
2027 →
All statistics correct as of 24 October 2026.

The 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup (Arabic: كأس العالم للسيدات تحت 17 سنة المغرب 2026) is the tenth edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the international women's youth football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is being hosted by Morocco from 17 October to 7 November 2026. This is the third FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup to be held in Africa and Morocco being the second Arab country to host it after Jordan in 2016. This is the second of five consecutive FIFA U-17 Women's World Cups to be held in Morocco, set to be played annually until 2029.[1]

North Korea are the defending champions, having won a record fourth title in 2025.

Host selection

Morocco was announced as the 2025–2029 Women's U-17 World Cups host country following the FIFA Council meeting on 14 March 2024 in Zurich, Switzerland.[1]

Venues

About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
30km
19miles
2
2 Salé
2 Salé
1
1 Rabat
1 Rabat
Location of the host cities of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup venues
Rabat Salé
Moulay El Hassan Stadium Mohammed VI Football Academy
(4 pitches)
Capacity: 22,000

Teams

Slot allocation

  Teams qualified
  Teams failed to qualify
  Teams withdrew or suspended
  Did not enter
  Not a FIFA member

The slot allocation will be as follows:

  • AFC (Asia): 4 slots
  • CAF (Africa): 5 slots (including hosts Morocco)
  • CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean): 4 slots
  • CONMEBOL (South America): 4 slots
  • OFC (Oceania): 2 slots
  • UEFA (Europe): 5 slots

Qualification

A total of 24 teams will qualify for the final tournament. In addition to Morocco, who qualified automatically as the host nation, the other 23 teams qualified from six separate continental competitions.

Argentina, Australia and Puerto Rico will make their debut, with Puerto Rico participating in their first ever FIFA competition. Venezuela are qualified for the first time since 2016.

Qualifying tournament Team Qualification date Appearance(s) Previous best performance
Total First Last Streak
Host nation  Morocco 14 March 2024 3rd 2022 2025 2 Round of 16 (2025)
2026 AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup  Australia 11 May 2026 1st Debut
 China 5th 2012 2025 2 Round of 16 (2025)
 Japan 10th 2008 2025 10 Champions (2014)
 North Korea 9th 2008 2025 3 Champions (2008, 2016, 2024, 2025)
2026 African U-17 Women's World Cup qualification  Ghana 11 July 2026 7th 2008 2018 1 Third place (2012)
 Nigeria 9th 2008 2025 4 Third place (2022)
 Kenya 12 July 2026 2nd 2024 1 Group stage (2024)
 Zambia 4th 2014 2025 3 Round of 16 (2025)
2026 CONCACAF U-17 Women's World Cup qualification  Canada 22 March 2026 9th 2008 2025 2 Fourth place (2018)
 Mexico 9th 2010 2025 9 Runners-up (2018)
 Puerto Rico 1st Debut
 United States 8th 2008 2025 6 Runners-up (2008)
2026 South American Under-17 Women's Football Championship  Argentina 6 May 2026 1st Debut
 Brazil 9th 2008 2025 6 Fourth place (2025)
 Chile 9 May 2026 3rd 2010 2022 1 Group stage (2010, 2022)
 Venezuela 4th 2010 2016 1 Fourth place (2014, 2016)
2025 OFC U-16 Women's Championship  New Zealand 11 August 2025 10th 2008 2025 10 Third place (2018)
 Samoa 2nd 2025 2 Group stage (2025)
2026 UEFA Women's U-17 Championship  Germany 7 May 2026 8th 2008 2022 1 Third place (2008)
 France 8 May 2026 5th 2008 2025 2 Champions (2012)
 Norway 10 May 2026 2nd 2025 2 Group stage (2025)
 Spain 11 May 2026 8th 2010 2025 7 Champions (2018, 2022)
 Poland 14 May 2026 2nd 2024 1 Quarter-finals (2024)

Draw

The draw took place on 21 May 2026 in Zurich, Switzerland.[2]

Pots
Pot Team Confederation 2016 2018 2022 2024 2025 Total
points
Points
(20%)		 Points
(40%)		 Points
(60%)		 Points
(80%)		 Points
(100%)
1  Morocco (H)CAFHost nation, automatically assigned to Pot 1
 SpainUEFA2.65.6912.81040
 North KoreaAFC2.82.8W12.82139.4
 JapanAFC3.22.45.46.41027.4
 United StatesCONCACAF0.61.24.89.61026.2
 CanadaCONCACAF0.83.61.2DNQ1318.6
2  BrazilCONMEBOL0.61.64.23.2918.6
 MexicoCONCACAF1.43.61.801117.8
N/A CAF 1[a]CAF0.2DNQ5.47.2315.8
 GermanyUEFA1.42.47.8DNQDNQ11.6
 FranceUEFADNQDNQ0.6DNQ88.6
 ChinaAFCDNQDNQ1.8DNQ67.8
3  New ZealandOFC0.6400.805.4
N/A CAF 2[b]CAF1.24DNQDNQDNQ5.2
 PolandUEFADNQDNQDNQ4DNQ4
N/A CAF 3[c]CAFDNQDNQDNQ033
N/A CAF 4[d]CAFDNQDNQDNQ2.4DNQ2.4
 ChileCONMEBOLDNQDNQ1.8DNQDNQ1.8
4  VenezuelaCONMEBOL1.8DNQDNQDNQDNQ1.8
 NorwayUEFADNQDNQDNQDNQ00
 SamoaOFCDNQDNQDNQDNQ00
 AustraliaAFCDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ0
 Puerto RicoCONCACAFDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ0
 ArgentinaCONMEBOLDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ0

Notes:

  1. Due to the African qualifiers not yet being completed, placeholder teams were used for the draw. The seeding of CAF1 was based on the ranking position of  Nigeria.
  2. Due to the African qualifiers not yet being completed, placeholder teams were used for the draw. The seeding of CAF2 was based on the ranking position of  Ghana.
  3. Due to the African qualifiers not yet being completed, placeholder teams were used for the draw. The seeding of CAF3 was based on the ranking position of  Zambia.
  4. Due to the African qualifiers not yet being completed, placeholder teams were used for the draw. The seeding of CAF4 was based on the ranking position of  Kenya.

Squads

Players born between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2011 were eligible to compete in the tournament.

Match officials

On 23 June 2026, FIFA confirmed that a total of 54 match officials have been appointed for the competition, comprising 18 referees and 36 assistant referees.[3][4]

Confederation Referee Assistant referees
AFC China Dong Fangyu China Xie Lijun
China Bao Mengxiao
Australia Lara Lee Kyrgyzstan Ramina Tsoi
Thailand Nuannid Donjangreed
South Korea Oh Hyeon-jeong South Korea Park Mi-suk
South Korea Lee Soo-bin
CAF Algeria Ghada Mehat Algeria Asma Ouahab
Niger Sakina Hamidou Alfa
Kenya Josephine Wanjiru Zambia Nancy Kasitu
Senegal Tabara Mbodji
Egypt Shahenda El Maghrabi Mauritius Queency Victoire
Tunisia Houda Afine
Morocco Zoulaikha Harmasse
Cameroon Aline Guimbang
CONCACAF Canada Carly Shaw-MacLaren Canada Melissa Snedden
Jamaica Stephanie Yee Sing
Costa Rica Deily Gómez Guatemala Iris Vail Sales
Costa Rica Kindria Agüero
Mexico Karen Hernández Mexico Mayra Mora
Mexico Karla Angelica Flores Ortega
United States Natalie Simon United States Katarzyna Wasiak
United States Tiffini Turpin
Dominican Republic Vimarest Díaz Dominican Republic Santa Felicia Medina Casanova
Trinidad and Tobago Melissa Cureen Nicholas
CONMEBOL Argentina Adriana Álvarez de Olivera Argentina Carla López
Argentina María Belén Bevilacqua
Bolivia Alejandra Quisbert Bolivia Elizabeth Blanco Ugarte
Bolivia Maria Luisa Cabezas Galean
Colombia Paula Fernández Ome Colombia Nataly Arteaga
Colombia Carolina Vicuña Collazos
UEFA Albania Emanuela Rusta
Belgium Caroline Lanssens Slovenia Štaša Špur
Switzerland Linda Schmid
Germany Fabienne Michel Austria Amina Gutschi
Germany Anne Uersfeld
Poland Michalina Diakow Croatia Ivona Pejić
Romania Marilena Catalina Nan
Slovakia Miriama Bocková Hungary Anita Vad
Sweden Tilde Hedberg

Group stage

All times are local, GMT (UTC+0).

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 3 3 0 0 8 3 +5 9 Knockout stage
2  Argentina 3 2 0 1 8 3 +5 6
3  Morocco 3 1 0 2 7 9 −2 3 Possible knockout stage
4  New Zealand 3 0 0 3 0 8 −8 0
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Germany 2–1 Argentina
 Report
Attendance: 259
Referee: Vimarest Díaz (Dominican Republic)
Morocco 4–0 New Zealand
 Report
Attendance: 259
Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren (Canada)
Argentina 2–0 New Zealand
 Report
Attendance: 231
Morocco 2–4 Germany
 Report
Attendance: 231
Referee: Lara Lee (Australia)
Argentina 5–1 Morocco
 Report
Referee: Karen Hernández (Mexico)
New Zealand 0–2 Germany
Report
Referee: Josephine Wanjiru (Kenya)

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  North Korea 3 2 0 1 13 4 +9 6 Knockout stage
2  Nigeria 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6
3  Poland 3 2 0 1 9 9 0 6
4  Puerto Rico 3 0 0 3 2 14 −12 0
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
North Korea 6–0 Puerto Rico
 Report
Attendance: 259
Referee: Alejandra Quisbert (Bolivia)
Poland 2–1 Nigeria
 Report
Attendance: 259
Referee: Dong Fangyu (China)
North Korea 6–1 Poland
 Report
Attendance: 231
Referee: Emanuela Rusta (Albania)
Nigeria 2–0 Puerto Rico
 Report
Attendance: 231
Referee: Adriana Álvarez de Olivera (Argentina)
Nigeria 3–1 North Korea
 Report
Referee: Fabienne Michel (Germany)
Puerto Rico 2–6 Poland
 Report
Referee: Zoulaikha Harmasse (Morocco)

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Brazil 3 2 1 0 12 5 +7 7 Knockout stage
2  Ghana 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 4
3  Canada 3 1 0 2 5 10 −5 3[a] Possible knockout stage
4  Norway 3 1 0 2 5 6 −1 3[a]
Updated to match(es) played on 24 October 2026. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head points: Canada 3, Norway 0.
Canada 2–6 Brazil
 Report
Attendance: 156
Referee: Oh Hyeon-jeong (South Korea)
Norway 3–0 Ghana
 Report
Attendance: 156
Referee: Karen Hernández (Mexico)
Canada 3–2 Norway
 Report
Attendance: 218
Referee: Miriama Bocková (Slovakia)
Ghana 3–3 Brazil
 Report
Attendance: 221
Referee: Deily Gómez (Costa Rica)
Ghana 2–0 Canada
 Report
Referee: Paula Fernández Ome (Colombia)
Brazil 3–0 Norway
 Report
Referee: Vimarest Díaz (Dominican Republic)

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Japan (A) 3 3 0 0 9 0 +9 9 Knockout stage
2  France 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 6
3  Venezuela 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 3 Possible knockout stage
4  Zambia 3 0 0 3 2 9 −7 0
Updated to match(es) played on 21 October 2026. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(A) Advance to a further round
Japan 5–0 Zambia
 Report
Attendance: 156
Referee: Caroline Lanssens (Belgium)
France 2–0 Venezuela
 Report
Attendance: 156
Referee: Deily Gómez (Costa Rica)
Japan 2–0 France
 Report
Attendance: 218
Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren (Canada)
Venezuela 3–2 Zambia
 Report
Attendance: 220
Referee: Dong Fangyu (China)
Venezuela 0–2 Japan
Report
Zambia 0–1 France
Report
Referee: Miriama Bocková (Slovakia)

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  United States (A) 2 2 0 0 23 1 +22 6 Knockout stage
2  China (A) 2 2 0 0 10 0 +10 6
3  Kenya 2 0 0 2 1 9 −8 0 Possible knockout stage
4  Samoa 2 0 0 2 0 24 −24 0
Updated to match(es) played on 22 October 2026. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(A) Advance to a further round
Kenya 0–3 China
Report
Attendance: 171
Referee: Fabienne Michel (Germany)
United States 17–0 Samoa
 Report
Attendance: 682
Referee: Zoulaikha Harmasse (Morocco)
China 7–0 Samoa
 Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Aline Guimbang (Cameroon)
United States 6–1 Kenya
 Report
Referee: Oh Hyeon-jeong (South Korea)
China v United States
Report
Samoa v Kenya
Report

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain (A) 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4 6 Knockout stage
2  Mexico 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
3  Chile 2 0 1 1 2 4 −2 1[a] Possible knockout stage
4  Australia 2 0 1 1 2 4 −2 1[a]
Updated to match(es) played on 22 October 2026. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(A) Advance to a further round
Notes:
  1. Fair play points: Chile −2, Australia −7.
Spain 2–0 Mexico
 Report
Attendance: 171
Referee: Paula Fernández Ome (Colombia)
Australia 1–1 Chile
 Report
Attendance: 171
Referee: Josephine Wanjiru (Kenya)
Spain 3–1 Australia
 Report Karaberis 68'
Attendance: 200
Referee: Alejandra Quisbert (Bolivia)
Chile 1–3 Mexico
Muñoz 12' Report
Referee: Caroline Lanssens (Belgium)
Chile v Spain
Report
Mexico v Australia
Report

Ranking of third-placed teams

The four best third-placed teams from the six groups advance to the knockout stage along with the six group winners and six runners-up.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B  Poland (A) 3 2 0 1 9 9 0 6 Knockout stage
2 A  Morocco (A) 3 1 0 2 7 9 −2 3
3 D  Venezuela 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 3
4 C  Canada 3 1 0 2 5 10 −5 3
5 F  Chile 2 0 1 1 2 4 −2 1
6 E  Kenya 2 0 0 2 1 9 −8 0
Updated to match(es) played on 24 October 2026. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Third-placed teams tiebreakers
(A) Advance to a further round

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time was played (two periods of fifteen minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.

Combinations of matches in the Round of 16

The specific match-ups involving the third-placed teams depend on which four third-placed teams qualified for the round of 16:

Third-placed teams
qualify from groups		 1A
vs		 1B
vs		 1C
vs		 1D
vs
ABCD3C3D3A3B
ABCE3C3A3B3E
ABCF3C3A3B3F
ABDE3D3A3B3E
ABDF3D3A3B3F
ABEF3E3A3B3F
ACDE3C3D3A3E
ACDF3C3D3A3F
ACEF3C3A3F3E
ADEF3D3A3F3E
BCDE3C3D3B3E
BCDF3C3D3B3F
BCEF3E3C3B3F
BDEF3E3D3B3F
CDEF3C3D3F3E

Bracket

 
Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
28 October – Salé
 
 
 Argentina
 
1 November – Salé
 
 Ghana
 
 
 
29 October – Salé
 
 
 
 Japan
 
4 November – Rabat
 
3B/E/F
 
 
 
28 October – Salé
 
 
 
 North Korea
 
1 November – Salé
 
3A/D
 
 
 
29 October – Salé
 
 
 
 Spain
 
7 November – Rabat
 
2E
 
 
 
29 October – Salé
 
 
 
1E
 
1 November – Salé
 
 France
 
 
 
28 October – Salé
 
 
 
 Brazil
 
4 November – Rabat
 
3A/B
 
 
 
29 October – Salé
 
 Third place match
 
 Nigeria
 
1 November – Salé7 November – Rabat
 
2F
 
  
 
28 October – Salé
 
  
 
 Germany
 
 
3C/D/E
 

Round of 16

North Korea Match 393A/C/D
Report
Germany Match 443C/D/E
Report
Argentina Match 37 Ghana
Report
Brazil Match 423A/B
Report
1EMatch 41 France
Report
Nigeria Match 432F
Report
Japan Match 383B/E/F
Report
Spain Match 402E
Report

Quarter-finals

W37Match 45W38
Report
W39Match 46W40
Report
W41Match 47W42
Report
W43Match 48W44
Report

Semi-finals

W45Match 49W46
Report
W47Match 50W48
Report

Bronze final

L49Match 51L50
Report

Final

W49Match 52W50
Report

Goalscorers

There have been 140 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 4.67 goals per match (as of 24 October 2026). Players highlighted in bold are still active in the competition.

10 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Source: FIFA

Controversies

UEFA boycott attempt

On 30 July 2026, following FIFA's announcement of FIFA Forward Enterprise (a proposal to sell stakes in FIFA's tournament operations, including for the U-17 Women's World Cup, to private investors), all 55 UEFA member associations agreed on an indefinite boycott of FIFA competitions until the proposal was shelved and assurances were made that such a proposal would not be tabulated again.[6][7] As the boycott was announced with two and a half months until the tournament begins, it was unknown what would happen to the five qualified UEFA teams, with withdrawal a possible option. A day later on 31 July, the proposal was scrapped,[8] although UEFA stated that, regardless, it no longer trusts FIFA's governance.[9] Following written assurances that a similar proposal wouldn't be brought up, UEFA provisionally suspended their boycott for the 2026–27 season, which includes the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[10][11][12]

See also

Notes

References

  1. "Morocco awarded multi-year hosting rights to FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  2. "Draw dates confirmed for U-17 World Cup and U-17 Women's World Cup". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 29 April 2026.
  3. "Match officials appointed for FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup 2026™ and FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2026™". FIFA. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  4. "Appointments of Match Officials" (PDF). FIFA. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  5. "Regulations for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Morocco 2025-2029™" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  6. Stone, Simon (30 July 2026). "Uefa to boycott World Cups if Fifa plans approved". BBC News. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  7. "Statement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 national associations". UEFA.com. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  8. Romero, Dennis (31 July 2026). "FIFA President nixes idea to sell stakes in World Cup to private equity investors". NBC News. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  9. Rampling, Ali (1 August 2026). "UEFA has 'lost confidence' in Gianni Infantino, accuses him of 'shabby, back room' deal". The Athletic. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  10. Martyn, Ziegler. "UEFA calls off threatened boycott of Fifa tournaments". The Times. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  11. Nick, Ames; Hughes, Matt (26 August 2026). "Uefa to lift boycott threat after Fifa promises no World Cup sale repeat". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  12. Johnson, Dale (26 August 2026). "Football news: Uefa to push forward with plans to remove Gianni Infantino after dropping boycott threat". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2026.