USA Falls to Morocco 4-3 On Penalty Kicks in Round of 32 at FIFA U-17 World Cup

DOHA, Qatar (Nov. 14, 2025) – The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team put forth a valiant effort, utilizing a goal from Jude Terry in a 1-1 draw with Morocco before ultimately falling 4-3 on penalty kicks in the Round of 32 at the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The result ends the USA’s participation tournament where it became just the second U.S. side to earn a perfect 3W-0L-0D record in the group stage.

Head coach Gonzalo Segares made four adjustments to the lineup that earned a 1-0 win in the final group stage match against Czechia on Tuesday. Gio Villa, Pedro Guimaraes, Nimfasha Berchimas and Mathis Albert all got the starting nod in the knockout round match, while defender Mateo Tsakiris was unavailable due to a red card received in the final moments of the Czechia game.

The first dangerous attack on the night came from Morocco in the fifth minute of play. Streaming up the right touchline, Ismail El Aoud played a cross into the box meeting Nahel Haddani, who jumped to meet the ball but pushed his header just wide of the post.

Just four minutes later, Sullivan, who was a standout attacker for the USA over the four matches, used step-overs to create some space on the left side of the field. Sullivan pushed the ball to his left boot and fired a threatening cross into Julian Hall who was unable to get on the other end of it, allowing Morocco to clear the danger.

The game broke open in the 21st minute as result of a brilliant play from the USA. Guimaraes placed a pass to Albert along the left side. The Borussia Dortmund player picked out Sullivan towards the touchline who edged to the box and played a pass back toward the penalty spot into an incoming Terry who sent a low blast towards the left post. The ball deflected off Ilyas Hidaoui, redirecting it past Morocco goalkeeper Chouaib Bellaarouch to give the U.S. a 1-0 advantage.

Segares' side continued to pressure the opposing backline and nearly doubled its lead in the 27th minute. Cooper Sanchez found Sullivan on the left and crossed into Hall who got a head on it, but Berchimas arrived first to put a shot on net that Bellaarouch pushed out for a corner kick.

Tensions began to rise in the 34th minute after a hard sliding tackle from Morocco defender Ilyas Hidaoui left Berchimas on the ground. Words were exchanged between both sides, sparking a mass of players gathering around the infraction. Within the mess, Hall was shown a yellow card for his response to the situation. Segares asked for a Video Support System challenge for the tackle on Berchimas, asking for red card infraction, however after a few minutes of suspense, the referee communicated that no red card offense occurred, but instead showed a yellow card to Hidaoui for the tackle.

The first half concluded with attacks from the U.S. on both wings, primarily utilizing Albert and Sullivan to break the last line of defense. While the U.S. was able to find spaces in behind, the Moroccans held strong and the game remained 1-0 heading into the break.

In the 54th minute, Sullivan won the ball outside the 18-yard-box and passed it to Hall who cut onto his right foot before shooting and forced Bellaarouch to push the ball out for a corner. On the ensuing service, Berchimas had a brilliant volley attempt at the top of the box, but it was saved again by the ‘keeper.

In the 58th minute, Albert took on Hamza Bouhaddi one-on-one into the box forcing a bad tackle from the defender. The ref called a penalty and Albert stepped up for the spot kick, but in a key moment in the match, he sent his attempt wide right of goal.

Morocco threatened again in the 71st minute, with Nahel Haddani firing a shot, deflecting off the arm of defender Enrique Martínez. Morocco head coach Nabil Baha signaled for VAR to review for a potential penalty, but referee Bruno Perez ruled the U.S. defender’s arm was in a natural position and signaled a corner kick for the African side.

With time winding down, Morocco finally broke through in the 89th minute. Starting from the right side of the pitch, Abdellah Ouazane cut into the left, past two U.S. defenders, entering the final third. He then fired a low shot with his left foot, beating a diving Aidan Stokes inside the right post to tie the match 1-1.

The game immediately moved to penalty kicks with Ziyad Baha and Cavan Sullivan converting for their respective sides during the first round. In the second round, Ismail El Aoud beat Stokes, but Cooper Sanchez had his attempt saved. Both Wassim Dadake and Chase Adams converted their attempts in the third and the U.S. pulled things back level in the fourth as Ahmed Bouhoub saw his spot kick saved by Stokes before Albert slotted his home. In the fifth round, Ilyas Hidaoui blasted home his chance, but Bellaarouch anticipated the attempt from Maxi Carrizo, diving to the right post to push the ball away and giving Morocco a 4-3 win on penalty kicks.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• Midfielder Jude Terry scored his World Cup goal for the U.S. establishing a 1-0 lead at the 22nd minute.
• Cavan Sullivan collected his second assist of the tournament on Terry’s goal. He finished the competition with four goal involvements (two goals, two assists) in the five U.S. goals.
• U.S. head coach Gonzalo Segares made four changes to the lineup that faced Czechia on Tuesday, giving the starting nod to Gio Villa and Pedro Guimaraes in defense and Nimfasha Berchimas and Mathis Albert in attack.
• This was the 11th time the U.S. advanced to the Knockout Round of the U-17 World Cup. 

- U.S. UNDER-17 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –

Match: United States Under-17 Men’s National Team vs. Morocco
Date: Nov. 14, 2025 
Competition: 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup – Round of 32
Venue: Aspire Zone Pitch 7 – Mansour Muftah
Attendance: N/A
Kickoff: 6:45 p.m. local time (10:45 a.m. ET) 
Weather: 79 degrees, clear

Shootout Summary: 
MAR - Ziyad Baha (Goal), Ismail El Aoud (Goal), Wassim Dardake (Goal), Ahmed Bouhoub (Saved), Ilyas Hidaoui (Goal)

USA – Cavan Sullivan (Goal), Cooper Sanchez (Saved), Chase Adams (Goal), Mathis Albert (Goal), Máximo Carrizo (Saved)

Lineups: 
USA: 1-Aidan Stokes; 2-Gio Villa, 4-Christopher Cupps (Capt.), 20-Enrique Martinez, 3-Pedro Guimaraes; 8-Jude Terry (10-Maximo Carrizo, 73), 15-Cooper Sanchez, 6-Cavan Sullivan; 7-Nimfasha Berchimas (18-Luca Moisa, 74), 16-Julian Hall (9-Chase Adams, 84) 11-Mathis Albert

Substitutes not used: 12-Jack Kortkamp, 21-William Lodmell, 5-Ramiz Hamouda, 13-Kellan LeBlanc, 14-Jordan Griffin, 17-Jamir Johnson

Suspended: 19-Mateo Tsakiris

Head coach: Gonzalo Segares

MAR: 1-Chouaib Bellaarouch, 2-Hamza Bouhaddi (Capt.), 3-Ilyas El Arbaoui (10-Wassim Dardake, 81), 5-Bilal Soukrat, 6-Elyes Saidi (11-Ahmed Bouhoub, 81), 14-Oulaid Ibn Salah, 15-Ilyas Hidaoui, 17-Moncef Zekri, 18-Zakari El Khalfioui (8-Abdella Ouazane, 65, 7-Younes El Bayadi, 90+7), 19-Nahel Haddani (9-Ziyad Baha, 72), 21-Abdelali Eddaoudi (20-Ismail El Aoud, 65)

Substitutes not used: 12-Gibril Bayoumi, 16-Soufiane El Idrissi, 4-Yousef Bellahsen, 13-Driss Ait Chiekh

Head coach: Nabil Baha

Stats Summary: USA / MAR
Shots: 11 / 12
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 3 / 3
Corner Kicks: 4 / 5
Fouls: 6 / 10
Offside: 0 / 3

Officials: 

Referee: Bruno Perez (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Leonar Soto (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Castillo (PER)
Fourth Official: Fernando Vejar (CHI)