List of U-17 World Cup champions: France once, Germany never

Posted On: December 1, 2023

Jakarta: The final match of the 2023 U-17 World Cup between Germany and France will take place at the Manahan Stadium in Solo on Saturday, December 2 at 7:00 p.m. WIB. Before the match, it was known that the two teams had different histories in the tournament.

France appears to be the favorite heading into this match as they have won the U-17 World Cup once in 2021. Meanwhile, Germany’s best achievement in this biennial event was only being runners-up, and that This was when it was still called West Germany during the first edition in 1985.

Uniquely, the subscribers to the U-17 world champions do not even come from Europe, which is usually the Mecca of football. This brilliant achievement belongs to the African team Nigeria, absent from this year’s edition. It is reported that Nigeria has won the U-17 World Cup five times.

Read: Ambitious to bring home medals, the Mali U-17 national team is not afraid to face Argentina

Brazil almost equaled Nigeria’s record entering the U-17 World Cup in Indonesia as they had won it four times, including the previous event. However, that hope vanished after they were eliminated by Argentina by a crushing score of 0-3 in the quarter-finals.

Since its inception in 1985, no country other than Nigeria and Brazil has managed to win at least three U-17 World Cup titles. Here is a list of U-17 World Cup winners from time to time:

China 1985

World Champion: Nigeria
Finalist: West Germany

Canada 1987

World Champions: Soviet Union
Finalist: Nigeria

Scotland 1989

World Champion: Saudi Arabia
Finalist: Scotland

Italy 1991

World Champion: Ghana
Finalist: Spain

Japan 1993

World Champion: Nigeria
Finalist: Ghana

Ecuador 1995

World Champion: Ghana
Finalist: Brazil