New Zealand Men's U-17s

by my count NZ is eliminated as we can't finish 3rd. A win against Austria would bring us level with the loser or Mail v Saudi Arabia and we would lose a potential tie-breaker against either team.

reubee

The result leaves New Zealand at the foot of their group and needing a win in their final game, against Austria, to retain any hope of going through to the knockout stages of the 48-nation tournament. (Friends of Football article)...

It’s still all to play for in group stage match three against Austria (NZ Football Instagram)

by my count NZ is eliminated as we can't finish 3rd. A win against Austria would bring us level with the loser or Mail v Saudi Arabia and we would lose a potential tie-breaker against either team.

 Correct by my count too

coochiee

Saffa

No genetic differences with African kids, it's just that we play football (generally active) a lot. No ball, no problem. No shoes, no problem and the weather really helps. 

Probable genetic differences with that Brazilian team though lol Wow! Are they special. Amazing.

In the U17 age cohort the stats would disagree with you.

Sub-Saharan African nations (Nigeria x5 & Ghana x2) have won the U17 Boys WC,
7 times in the 19 tourneys held since it began in 1985.

Runnersup a further 6 times (Nigeria x3, Ghana x2 & Mali once).
Ivory Coast, Ghana, Burkina Faso & Mali have all been 3rd.

Meanwhile an African nation has yet to win the senior men's WC, or even been in a final. North African Morocco in 2022, the first & only CAF nation to make a senior WC semi final.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_U-17_World_Cup

I woke up, with the realisation that my comment earlier never aged well lol.
Morocco just won the U20 WC this year. Lol Dah!

William Britton ( Western Springs) gets equalizer for 1-1. Only 5 minutes to go...

We end up losing 4-1.  What the hell happened

Got it back to 1-1 late on. 
Austria go bang, bang, bang and we will now end up without a point at the world cup, just like we did in 2023.

Pretty decent group of players this round too. Wonder if Bullock is the man to take them through the next cycle? He's been at the helm for a while, but hasnt really produced much outside of Oceania, and even then some of those results have been a grind. Good FIFA series results earlier this year admittedly, but 0 from 6 at World Cups, and the 2023 performances were pretty awful.

Roll on 2026!

Procrastinixing

We end up losing 4-1.  What the hell happened

Capitulation. The boys looked zonked. 

Turnovers higher up the pitch just ruthlessly punished. The Austrians were exploiting the space well and getting in behind, whereas a few of our boys weren't tracking the man and just giving them space. Very tidy finishes from Austria though, who were the better team overall.

Well the Austrians know all about genetics! 

Must be those superior Austrian genetics 

Match highlights. NZ's goal basically a gift from one of the Austrian defenders.

Yes time for Bullock to walk away and someone new to have a go. 

https://www.plus.fifa.com/en/content/new-zealand-v-austria-fifa-u-17-world-cup-qatar-2025tm-highlights/d37a2443-fe3c-4d21-b2f3-1e2f087aa7a0?gl=au

Bullock is proof that badges doesn't equal quality.

I don't know if anyone else noticed the points table in Group K

[pre]
France 3 1 1 1 2 1 +1 4
Canada 3 1 1 1 3 3  0 4
Uganda 3 1 1 1 3 3  0 4
Chile  3 1 1 1 3 4 -1 4
[/pre]

or the method used to place the teams in the knockout bracket.  The 12 groups winners being ranked 1-12, the 12 ground runner ups being ranked 13-24, and the 8 3rd places being ranked 25-32 in a seeded knockout 1v32, 2v31, 3v30 etc (swapping adjacent matches if it meant two teams from the same group played each other).  NZSS, Napier 19s, Western Springs 17s should adopt something similar.

9 of the 10 African nations have progressed to the next round.

Maybe it is genetics 🤣

I previously mentioned that CAF and FIFA are working hard to combat "age cheating and its effects on African countries winning junior tournaments. 

There is an interesting article from South Africa about why their under 17 squad is a "man" short

https://www.citizen.co.za/sport/soccer/local-soccer/chiefs-youngster-missed-trip-to-qatar-after-failing-age-test-coach-confirms/

Saffa

9 of the 10 African nations have progressed to the next round.

Maybe it is genetics 🤣

In elite running I think it’s pretty well known that in some African countries it’s not uncommon for people to lie about their age for sponsorship and scholarship reasons. 

https://www.oceaniafootball.com/draws-announced-for-ofc-u-16-mens-championship-2026/

The draws for the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship 2026 and OFC U-16 Men’s Championship 2026 – Qualifying have been confirmed at the OFC Home of Football – Te Kahu o Kiwa in Auckland.   

The OFC U-16 Men’s Championship 2026 will be held in Papua New Guinea from the 12th-25th of July, with the qualifying tournament to be held in Tonga from the 25th-31st of March. 

Defending champions New Zealand have been drawn alongside the Solomon Islands, Tahiti, and the qualifying winner in Group B of the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship 2026, whilst hosts Papua New Guinea are joined by 2025 runners-up New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa, in Group A of the competition in July.  

coochiee

https://www.oceaniafootball.com/draws-announced-for-ofc-u-16-mens-championship-2026/

The draws for the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship 2026 and OFC U-16 Men’s Championship 2026 – Qualifying have been confirmed at the OFC Home of Football – Te Kahu o Kiwa in Auckland.   

The OFC U-16 Men’s Championship 2026 will be held in Papua New Guinea from the 12th-25th of July, with the qualifying tournament to be held in Tonga from the 25th-31st of March. 

Defending champions New Zealand have been drawn alongside the Solomon Islands, Tahiti, and the qualifying winner in Group B of the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship 2026, whilst hosts Papua New Guinea are joined by 2025 runners-up New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa, in Group A of the competition in July.  

July 13, 5pm: v Solomon Islands

July 16, 5pm: v Tahiti

July 19, 5pm: v qualifying winner

July 22, 1pm/5pm: Semifinals (if qualified)

July 25, 1pm/5pm: Playoff for third/Final