Four African national teams have booked their place in the round of 16 of the Women’s U17 World Cup being held in Morocco. The Atlas Lionesses, the host country, will face reigning champions North Korea.
The round-of-16 picture at the Women’s U17 World Cup has become clearer for Africa. Four nations from the continent — Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco and Kenya — have secured qualification for this stage, reports Brightwire.news. The Flamingos, the Black Maidens, the Atlas Lionesses and the Kenyan national team therefore continue their journey in a tournament being played in Morocco.
Kenya sealed their place by beating Samoa 4-0 on Sunday evening in their final group match, according to Events Nigeria, citing Daily Post Nigeria. A comfortable win that sends the Kenyans through to the next round.
Morocco face the holders
The round-of-16 schedule offers a heavyweight tie for the host country. The Atlas Lionesses take on reigning champions North Korea on Wednesday at 16:00 West Africa Time, according to Brightwire.news. The match is expected to be one of the day’s major fixtures for the Moroccans.
Ghana have also been handed a tough opponent: the Black Maidens will meet Argentina on Wednesday at 19:00 West Africa Time, according to the same source. Two African matches would thus be scheduled on the same day.
Nigeria and Kenya on Thursday
The continent’s two other representatives will be in action on Thursday, again according to Brightwire.news. Nigeria face Mexico at 16:00, under the guidance of Akeem Busari, head coach of the Nigeria Flamingos, while Kenya take on Japan at 19:00.
This eighth edition of the tournament brings together sixteen teams, which makes the qualification of the four African nations all the more notable.
A schedule to be clarified
The two sources do not agree on the immediate schedule. Brightwire.news places Morocco–North Korea and Ghana–Argentina on Wednesday 28 October, then Nigeria–Mexico and Kenya–Japan on Thursday 29 October. Events Nigeria, which relies on the FIFA website, places all the round-of-16 matches on 30 and 31 October.
Neither version can be ruled out without further clarification. The kick-off times cited are those given by Brightwire.news, in West Africa Time.
The rest of the bracket, however, is fixed: the quarter-finals will be played on 2 and 3 November, the semi-finals on 5 November and the final on 7 November 2026.