Morocco and Burkina Faso kept Africa’s flag flying at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025™ on Tuesday, with the Atlas Cubs beating Mali 3-2 in a pulsating all-African tie and the Stallions eliminating debutants Uganda 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Burkina Faso will face Italy in the last eight, while Morocco meet Brazil.
Morocco twice struck from Moncef Zekri set-pieces and survived a late surge from Mali to book their quarter-final place. Ziyad Baha’s deft glance from Zekri’s free-kick put the North Africans ahead on 29 minutes.
Raymond Bomba levelled from the spot in first-half added time, only for Ismail El Aoud to restore Morocco’s lead five minutes later with a towering header from another Zekri delivery.
Mali, semi-finalists in each of their previous three appearances, pressed after the break but were hit by a sucker punch when El Aoud rifled home his second from distance midway through the half.
Skipper Seydou Dembélé halved the deficit with a thunderous late strike, yet Morocco held on to seal a 3-2 victory and a glamour quarter-final against Brazil.
Earlier, Burkina Faso edged a tense, even contest against Uganda that needed penalties to separate the sides.
After a cagey first period, Arafat Nkoola ignited the tie on 56 minutes with a superb curling finish from the angle of the box to send the noisy Ugandan support into raptures.
The Stallions replied on 77 minutes when Alassana Bagayogo volleyed past the excellent Edrisah Waibi to force extra time and, ultimately, a shootout.
In the spot-kicks, both teams were flawless until Uganda’s last-gasp substitute Derick Ssozi crashed his effort against the crossbar, handing Burkina Faso a 5-3 win and a last-eight meeting with Italy.
Mohamed Zongo, so influential in the Round of 32, was named Player of the Match.
Burkina Faso captain Chérif Barro hailed his team’s resolve: “Life is good here. We feel great, and we’re getting wins. We knew it would be a tough team to beat, but we did everything we could to give ourselves the best chance… We came here to beat every team, one by one.”
Uganda coach Brian Ssenyondo praised his debutants after a trailblazing campaign: “We are very proud of ourselves… Even in the way we lost, we lost honourably. We represented ourselves very well. Of course we are hurt that we did not qualify, but that’s football.”
Elsewhere on a busy last-16 day, Brazil advanced on penalties against France to set up their quarter-final with Morocco, while Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan and Austria also progressed.
With two African sides now guaranteed in the quarter-finals and both matches decided by fine margins, the continent’s teenagers continue to deliver high-stakes drama in Doha.
Source:Cafonline