Full List: Morocco, Other Countries That Have Qualified For U-17 FIFA World Cup Quarterfinals

Morocco has successfully advanced to the FIFA U-17 World Cup quarterfinals in Indonesia after Tuesday’s match against Iran.

After scoring a crucial equalizer in stoppage time, the North Africans triumphed over Iran in a penalty shootout.

Naija News understands that Iran’s Hesam Nafari failed to convert from the spot, while Morocco’s goalkeeper Taha Benrhozil made a remarkable save from Kasra Taheri’s twice-taken kick.

This paved the way for Fouad Zahouani to secure victory for the Atlas Cubs by confidently converting his penalty, leading to jubilant celebrations.

Alongside powerhouses such as Spain, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Mali, Morocco has joined the esteemed team group in the quarterfinals.

On Saturday, Morocco will face Mali in Surakarta.

2023 AFCON: John Enoh Calls On Nigerians To Back Super Eagles

Meanwhile, the minister of sports development, John Enoh, has urged football enthusiasts to support the Super Eagles as they prepare to win the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast in 2024.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria won their first AFCON in 1980 on home soil before taking home the trophy in Tunisia in 1994 and the third gold in South Africa in 2013.

In the 2023 AFCON, which is scheduled to kick off on January 13 and end on February 11, 2024, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) came up with a #Letsdoitagain campaign to inspire the Eagles to go for their fourth AFCON title.

On Monday, the sports minister launched the campaign in Abuja and used the opportunity to encourage Nigerians to support the Eagles during the competition.

The minister said: “I like to thank the NFF for putting this together. This is what is hugely needed. Let’s do it again, we can do it again, we will do it again. That’s what it takes. It is very important.

“This campaign is about galvanizing all 200 million Nigerians to be behind the Super Eagles as we go for the AFCON in Ivory Coast. We have a rich football history to make this a campaign like no other. Nigeria has a great football history, and we can build a story around our players one after the other.”

The Super Eagles were in superb form during the AFCON qualifiers. They were among the first countries to qualify for the tournament after winning Group A with 15 points.

But in their last game, the Eagles have been so disappointing that they drew 1-1 against Lesotho and 1-1 against Zimbabwe in their first two 2026 World Cup qualifiers.