Morocco and Burkina Faso have booked their spots in the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, standing out as the only African teams left in the tournament.
Morocco’s journey has been anything but straightforward. They struggled in the group stage, losing 2-0 to Japan and then 6-0 to Portugal, before bouncing back with a massive 16-0 win over New Caledonia to slip into the round of 32 as one of the best third-placed teams.
They then held the USA to a 1-1 draw and triumphed 4-3 on penalties. In the round of 16, Morocco edged Mali 3-2 to secure their place in the last eight, where they’ll face Brazil on Friday.
Burkina Faso’s path has also been full of resilience. After opening with a narrow 1-0 loss to the USA, they regrouped with a 2-1 win over Czechia and a 2-0 victory against Tajikistan. They went on to knock out defending champions Germany with a 1-0 win in the round of 32.
On Monday, they drew 1-1 with Uganda but kept their nerve in the shootout, winning 5-3 to reach the quarterfinals, where Italy awaits on Friday.
Elsewhere, Portugal will face Switzerland, while Austria goes up against Japan in the remaining quarterfinal matches.
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