Mondial U17: a Moroccan sends the Netherlands to the final

The semi-final, dominated by the Netherlands, turned in the 69th minute thanks to a goal from Lina Touzani, assisted by Anne Gelevert. The qualification was however hanging by a thread. The VAR was first called upon for a possible Dutch foul in the box, but the goal was validated after three minutes of verification. Then, in the eighth minute of added time, a distant Mexican shot violently hit the crossbar of goalkeeper Maren Groothoff, who had been beaten.

A grueling journey before the final

This qualification for the final is the culmination of a remarkable journey for the Dutch. Before beating Mexico, they had to go through two consecutive penalty shootouts in the round of 16 and the quarter-finals. Their quarter-final against France had been particularly spectacular: trailing 2-0 in added time, they had come back to equalize before winning a series of eighteen penalties.

The final, scheduled for Saturday at 8pm, promises to be the ultimate challenge. The Oranje will face North Korea, a team that had heavily beaten them 5-0 in the group stage. It should be noted that in this first match, the Dutch had to play more than an hour with ten men after an early dismissal.