Morocco shatter U17 World Cup record by thrashing minnows 16-0 after two disastrous red cards

MOROCCO shattered the Under-17 World Cup record with their thumping 16-0 win.

The North African nation needed a win on Sunday to have any chance of progressing from Group B into the knockout stages.

They lost their first two matches in Qatar to Japan 2-0 and Portugal 6-0.

But they kept their World Cup hopes alive by thrashing minnows New Caledonia.

Unsurprisingly, the Atlas Cubs’ 16-0 victory was the biggest margin in the 40-year history of the U17 World Cup tournament.

New Caledonia – a tiny French territory in the South Pacific – has a population of just under 300,000.

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And two of them were sent off within the first 31 minutes against Morocco, by which point they were already 3-0 down.

Morocco racked up a staggering 79 shots and an xG of 10 – way more than the Premier League record of 7.27 set by Liverpool in January 2024.

The result sees them move on to three points with a goal difference of +8.

And that should be enough to finish among the eight best third-placed teams from the 12 groups.

Of the 48 nations in the competition, only seven – Italy, Argentina, Brazil, USA, Ireland, Austria and Zambia – have a perfect 100 per cent record.

England were stunned 3-0 by Venezuela in their opening game in Group E.

Neil Ryan’s side then responded by beating Haiti 8-1.

Emile Heskey’s son Reigan was among the goalscorers while Chelsea kid Chizaram Ezenwata helped himself to a hat-trick.

The Young Lions complete their group stage against Egypt on Monday evening.