Morocco Smash U17 World Cup Record with 16-0 Rout of New Caledonia

Morocco set a new U-17 World Cup record on Sunday with a staggering 16-0 victory over New Caledonia in the final round of Group B. The win marks the biggest margin of victory in the tournament’s history.

The lopsided scoreline was aided by two first-half red cards for New Caledonia’s Typhan Dreuko and Jean Canehmez, leaving the team severely undermanned. Morocco had already taken a 3-0 lead within the opening 20 minutes.

Ajax star Abdellah Ouazane, whose move to Real Madrid collapsed last summer due to a failed medical, was introduced in the 63rd minute and made an instant impact, scoring twice and assisting another goal in just 27 minutes.

A total of ten Moroccan players found the net: Bilal Soukrat, Oualid Ibn Salah (2), Abdelali Eddaoudi (2), Ilyas Hidaoui, Ziyad Baha (2), Zakari El Khalfioui, Nahel Haddani (2), Abdellah Ouazane (2), Steevy Andrew (own goal), and Ismail El Aoud (2).

New Caledonia now hold the unenviable record of being on the receiving end of three of the five largest defeats in U-17 World Cup history, including losses to Brazil (9-0) and England (10-0) in 2023. The previous record was Spain’s 13-0 win over New Zealand in 1997.

Despite Morocco’s two earlier defeats and a goal difference of -8, the team’s astonishing performance boosted their goal difference to +8, keeping their hopes of advancing as one of the best third-placed teams alive. Confirmation of their qualification will come after the conclusion of the group stage on Tuesday.

New Caledonia, meanwhile, finished bottom of the group and were eliminated. Their 16-0 loss came after a surprising 0-0 draw with group winners Japan, who also defeated Portugal 2-1 and Morocco 2-0.

Biggest Wins in U-17 World Cup History:

1. Morocco 16-0 New Caledonia (2025)

2. Spain 13-0 New Zealand (1997)

3. New Caledonia 0-10 England (2023)

4. Brazil 9-0 New Caledonia (2023)

5. Colombia 9-1 Finland (2003)