Morocco have reached the last 16 of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup despite losing their final Group A match, with Venezuela’s defeat by Japan confirming their progress.

The Atlas Lionesses were beaten 5-1 by Argentina on Friday evening and had been left waiting to discover whether their results would be enough to secure one of the places reserved for the best third-placed teams.

Their qualification was settled on Saturday when Venezuela lost 2-0 to Japan in Group D. That result ensured Morocco would finish ahead of both the South Americans and Canada in the ranking of third-placed sides, regardless of the outcomes in Groups E and F.

It is the second time in their history that Morocco have reached the knockout stages of the competition, and the achievement comes in successive editions.

They will face either DPR Korea, the two-time defending champions, or Brazil, who finished fourth at the previous tournament. The identity of their opponents will depend on the final standings and the knockout-stage draw.

Morocco also progressed through the best third-placed route at last year’s tournament. Their campaign then included group-stage and last-16 defeats by Brazil and DPR Korea respectively, losing 3-0 to the Brazilians before suffering a 6-1 defeat against the eventual opponents from North Korea.

Whatever the outcome of the draw, coach Youness Rabie’s side will need to overcome one of those previous opponents if they are to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

Morocco began this year’s tournament with an emphatic 4-0 victory over New Zealand. They followed that with a 4-2 defeat by Germany before ending the group phase against Argentina.

Despite that loss, the result in Japan allowed Morocco to remain among the teams advancing to the first knockout round.