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Young Taeguk Warriors to face England for spot in U-17 World Cup round of 16

Published: 12 Nov. 2025, 17:02

Korea's under-17 national football team manager, Baek Ki-tae, high-fives players after defeating the Ivory Coast 3-1 at Aspire Zone in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 11. [YONHAP]

South Korea’s under-17 national football team will face England for a spot in the round of 16 at the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The young Taeguk Warriors, which advanced from Group F in second place with two wins and one draw, will play England, the second-place team from Group E with two wins and one loss, according to the round of 32 bracket confirmed on Wednesday.

The Korea–England match is set for Saturday at 9:30 p.m. at Aspire Zone in Doha, Qatar. The winner will go on to face the victor of the Austria–Tunisia match in the round of 16. A trip to the quarterfinals could set the stage for a showdown against either Japan or North Korea.

FIFA has decided to hold the U-17 World Cup annually from this year through 2029. The number of participating nations has doubled from 24 to 48.

The tournament is structured with 12 groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group advance, along with the eight best-performing third-place teams, to form the round of 32.

Matchups for the round of 32 were determined by comparing teams with the same group stage ranking based on points, goal difference, goals scored and fair play record.

Korea's under-17 national football team players celebrate after defeating Mexico 2-1 at Aspire Zone in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 11. [YONHAP]

South Korea secured their spot in the round of 32 early with a 2-1 victory over Mexico in their first group-stage match, followed by a 0-0 draw against Switzerland. The side then defeated the Ivory Coast 3-1 in their third match.

This is South Korea’s first time advancing past the group stage in the U-17 World Cup since 2019, when the tournament featured 24 teams in a 16-team knockout format. At the previous tournament in Indonesia in 2023, the side lost all three group-stage matches.

South Korea’s best performances at the U-17 World Cup were quarterfinal finishes in 1987 in Canada, 2009 in Nigeria and 2019 in Brazil. The young Taeguk Warriors have never beaten England in a U-17 competition, with three draws and two losses.

“I’m proud of the players for going undefeated in the group stage,” said manager Baek Ki-tae. “It’s true that England are a title contender and a strong team, but the ball is round, and in this age group, anything can happen. We’ll prepare as one confident team.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PIH JU-YOUNG [[email protected]]