Panama U-17 Vs Morocco U-17: Repeating Memories Of A Decade Ago

Panama U-17 is one of the most serious challengers from Group A (photo: dock. instagram)

JAKARTA The U-17 Panamanian national team will start their journey at the 2023 U-17 World Cup after a decade of absence from the event. They will meet Morocco U-17 in the inaugural match.

The duel between the two teams will take place at Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya, East Java, Friday, November 10. Kick off or kick off the start of the match starting at 16.00 WIB.

Panama has previously appeared in the U-17 World Cup twice. First, they managed to reach the last 16 when they made their debut in 2011 in Mexico.

Their journey was stopped by the home side. Second, Panama then qualified for the finals again two years later, but was eliminated in the group stage.

In this year's edition, Panama comes with more confidence because their football is doing well. This is evidenced by the appearance of the men's and women's senior team at the World Cup.

The country's senior squad competed in the inaugural World Cup in 2018 in Russia. Meanwhile, the senior women's team made their debut in the finals in Australia and New Zealand this year.

Panama got a ticket to Indonesia after becoming the semifinalist of the CONCACAF U-17 Championship last February. After qualifying from the group stage, they beat Cuba in the round of 16.

Panama locked the tickets to the 2023 U-17 World Cup after a 2-1 win over Honduras in the last eight. Unfortunately, they were then defeated by defending champions Mexico in the semifinals.

In this match the Panamanian player who performed brilliantly at CONCACAF U-17, Kevin Walder, deserved the spotlight. He scored four goals during the competition on the continent.

The ability to dribble, control the ball, and finish it is impressive and he is the only Panamanian player to enter the tournament's best team.

On the other hand, Morocco also appeared in this tournament after a long wait for a decade. This is their second appearance in this competition since debuting in 2013.

In that edition they topped a group containing Uzbekistan, Croatia, and Panama, which they will face again in the group stage in this edition. They were then eliminated in the round of 16 after losing to Ivory Coast.

Morocco confirmed their place in the 2023 U-17 World Cup after becoming runners-up in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria earlier this year. In that competition, Morocco qualified as group winners ahead of Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia.

They then beat the Algerian hosts in the quarter-finals and Mali in the semifinals after going on penalties. Unfortunately, Morocco's ambition to win disappeared after losing 2-1 to Senegal in the final.

Schedule for the Panama U-17 national team vs Morocco U-17:

Panama U-17 vs Morocco U-17

Matchday I Group A

Gelora Bung Karno Stadium

Kick off: 16.00 WIB