November 3 – South Africa and Bolivia will kick off the U-17 World Cup in Qatar today, the first of five 48-team tournaments in the age group to be staged in the Gulf nation.
On a busy opening day, hosts Qatar will play Italy, Argentina will take on Belgium and New Caledonia will face Portugal.
On Tuesday, Germany will be in action against Colombia. They are the defending champions after defeating France on penalties in the 2023 U-17 World Cup. On that same day, England will feature against Venezuela. The English won the tournament in 2017 in India.
In a larger format, El Salvador, Fiji, the Republic of Ireland, Zambia and Uganda will make their debuts.
World governing body FIFA expanded the finals to 48 teams and awarded five consecutive tournaments to Qatar, the hosts of the 2022 World Cup and the first country in the Middle East to stage the global finals. The top two teams in each of the 12 groups, along with the eight best third-placed sides, will qualify for the round of 32.
It’s the third time the tournament has been played in the Arab world after both the United Arab Emirates, in 2013, and Egypt, in 1997, hosted.
Except for the final, no World Cup venues will be staging matches, nor will Qatar Stars League club stadiums. Instead, the Aspire Zone will host the tournament. The tournament will culminate with the final on November 27 at the Khalifa International Stadium.
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