New Zealand have ended their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup campaign after losing 2-0 to Germany in Morocco.
The New Zealanders couldn’t contain the European champions, who completed their Group A programme with three successive victories.
Germany dominated possession and created the better chances throughout the match at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé.
However, New Zealand goalkeeper Nienke Holland made several saves to keep the Germans from building a bigger lead.
Germany took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Laura Ernst headed home a corner delivered by Mia Kuhn.
The goal came after Marie Kleemann had struck a post and Holland had denied Clara Choisy and Kleemann.
Germany continued to control the game after the interval, with substitute Fiona Itgenshorst also testing the New Zealand goalkeeper.
They doubled their advantage in the 57th minute when Lena Martens delivered a cross from the right for Choisy to finish.
New Zealand’s plight worsened on the hour when Emmie Butler was shown a second yellow card, forcing the team to play the last third of the match a player short.
Johanna Putzer struck the crossbar in the 68th minute as Germany continued to press for more goals.
The result completed a disappointing tournament for New Zealand, who had already been eliminated from contention for the knockout stages.
They opened their campaign with a 4-0 defeat to hosts Morocco before losing 2-0 to Argentina in their second fixture.
The three defeats left New Zealand bottom of Group A, having conceded eight goals without scoring.
Germany, coached by Sabine Loderer, progress to the round of 16 as group winners, having beaten Argentina 2-1 and Morocco 4-2.
“It was a pretty solid performance,” Loederer said after the match.
“We could have scored more goals, but we are really happy with three matches, three wins – the best outcome. Now we’re ready for some recovery and then to prepare for the Round of 16.”
Meanwhile, Argentina overwhelmed hosts Morocco 5-1 to seal second place in the group.
Main photo: Germany beat New Zealand 2-0 to go unbeaten through the group stage. Photo credit: FIFA.
Results
Games played on Saturday October 24, 2026 (NZT)
Group A
New Zealand 0
Germany 2 (Laura Ernst 45+2′, Clara Choisy 56′)
Argentina 5 (Mercedes Diz 14′, 20′, 45+2′, Josefina Galarza 35′, Julieta Aguilar 73′)
Morocco 1 (Nessma Mouradi 58′)
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Group A
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Germany
3
3
0
0
8
3
5
9
Argentina
3
2
0
1
8
3
5
6
Morocco
3
1
0
2
7
9
-2
3
New Zealand
3
0
0
3
0
8
-8
0
This story was first published on October 24, 2026.