U17 WORLD CUP
Magnificent Mali pummel Argentina to win U17 World Cup bronze
Hamidou Makalou scored an incredible individual goal as Mali swept aside Argentina to clinch the bronze medal at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Ibrahim Diarra and Mamadou Doumbia were also on target for the dominant African side in Surakarta.
The outstanding Diarra – unquestionably one of the stars of Indonesia 2023 – opened the scoring on nine minutes. The Mali captain expertly controlled a lofted pass from Sekou Kone then placed a precision strike into the bottom corner.
Mali continued to control the game and got the second goal their efforts deserved on the stroke of half-time. Makalou was the creator, with his free-kick delivery headed home by Doumbia.
Mali extended their advantage after the break with a quite astonishing goal. Makalou alighted on the ball just inside the box, nutmegged Tobias Palacio and, with one swift body-swerve, side-stepped Dylan Gorosito and goalkeeper Jeremias Florentin before tapping into an empty net.
Argentina’s Claudio Echeverri – who came on as a half-time substitute – thought he had reduced the deficit with a neat finish shortly after the hour, but he had strayed offside.
Makalou almost scored a spectacular second when his thunderous free-kick smashed off the underside of the crossbar. There were to be no further goals, however, as Mali comfortably saw out a mightily impressive victory.
The FIFA Under-17 World Cup will be held annually instead of biennially, with the next five editions from 2025 to take place in Qatar, world soccer’s governing body said on Thursday.
Like the senior men’s World Cup, the Under-17 tournament will be expanded to 48 teams, FIFA said.
The women’s Under-17 World Cup will also be played annually from 2025, with Morocco hosting an expanded 24-team event until 2029. The 2022 edition had 16 teams.
“This followed a global call for expressions of interest in hosting both competitions, with a focus on leveraging the use of existing footballing infrastructure in the interest of tournament efficiencies and sustainability,” FIFA said.
The last men’s Under-17 World Cup was held in 2023 with Germany winning their first title. Spain won the women’s edition in 2022.
Qatar hosted the 2022 senior men’s World Cup in winter while Morocco are one of the co-hosts for the 2030 edition.
FIFA also said a record $2.25 billion had been earmarked for the 2023-2026 cycle for investment in football development.
“Thanks to its solid financial governance, FIFA is well on track to exceed its budgetary target of $11 billion for the 2023-2026 cycle,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at the FIFA Council meeting.
Infantino also called for the imposition of stricter measures to combat racism. Last month, he called for teams to face automatic defeat if their fans displayed racist behaviour.
“The 74th FIFA Congress will mark a milestone in FIFA’s ongoing efforts to fight racism with new and stricter measures to be applied worldwide in cooperation with all our member associations and the confederations,” Infantino added.
The FIFA Under-17 World Cup will be held annually instead of biennially, with the next five editions from 2025 to take place in Qatar, world soccer’s governing body said on Thursday.
Like the senior men’s World Cup, the Under-17 tournament will be expanded to 48 teams, FIFA said.
The women’s Under-17 World Cup will also be played annually from 2025, with Morocco hosting an expanded 24-team event until 2029. The 2022 edition had 16 teams.
“This followed a global call for expressions of interest in hosting both competitions, with a focus on leveraging the use of existing footballing infrastructure in the interest of tournament efficiencies and sustainability,” FIFA said.
The last men’s Under-17 World Cup was held in 2023 with Germany winning their first title. Spain won the women’s edition in 2022.
Qatar hosted the 2022 senior men’s World Cup in winter while Morocco are one of the co-hosts for the 2030 edition.
FIFA also said a record $2.25 billion had been earmarked for the 2023-2026 cycle for investment in football development.
“Thanks to its solid financial governance, FIFA is well on track to exceed its budgetary target of $11 billion for the 2023-2026 cycle,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at the FIFA Council meeting.
Infantino also called for the imposition of stricter measures to combat racism. Last month, he called for teams to face automatic defeat if their fans displayed racist behaviour.
“The 74th FIFA Congress will mark a milestone in FIFA’s ongoing efforts to fight racism with new and stricter measures to be applied worldwide in cooperation with all our member associations and the confederations,” Infantino added.
The Moroccan Football Federation, FRMF, on Monday had a warm reception for the Morocco U-17 team as they arrived from Indonesia where they got to the quarter-finals. President of the FRMF, Fouzi Lekjaa and vice-president Mohamed Jodar commended the team’s performance despite their not being able to advance to the last four.
The reception took place at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Sale on Monday evening.
Team captain Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal highlighted the efforts of FRMF President Fouzi Lekjaa to advance Moroccan football and furnish the national team with all the necessary resources conducive to success.
For his part, Said Chiba, the Moroccan team’s head coach, commended his players for their performance during the tournament and urged them to keep up their hard work and professionalism to eventually represent the first team.
FRMF vice-president Mohamed Jodar also expressed his pride in the team’s performance, telling the athletes to never give up on professional growth and improvement.
The quarter-finals placement is Morocco’s best ever finish having previously reached as far as the round of 16 in 2013.
In the group stage, the Atlas Lions had two victories against Indonesia and Panama, and one defeat to Ecuador, finishing the group on top with six points.
They also defeated Iran 4-1 in a penalty shootout in the round of 16, after finishing the original time with a 1-1 draw.
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