Four teams have booked their places in the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup after a dramatic first night of knockout football in Morocco. Venezuela, Korea DPR, Ghana and Brazil all survived the round of 16 on Wednesday, with two of the four ties settled by penalty shoot-outs and the defending champions delivering the most emphatic result of the night. The remaining four quarter-final places were due to be decided on Thursday, with the last eight ties scheduled for Sunday 1 November.

Holders run riot as Venezuela spring a surprise

Defending champions Korea DPR were ruthless against the host nation, beating Morocco 6-0 without reply to underline why they arrived in Salé as the team to beat. Venezuela produced the shock of the round, eliminating group winners Germany with a first-half goal in a 1-0 win that ended the European side's tournament. Ghana and Brazil both needed nerve from twelve yards: Ghana edged Argentina 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, while Brazil survived a six-goal thriller against Poland, winning 8-7 in the shoot-out after the match finished 3-3.

Four more places still to be decided

Thursday's fixtures were set to complete the quarter-final line-up, with China meeting France and Nigeria facing Mexico in the early games, followed by Japan against Kenya and Spain against the United States in the evening. For the four sides already through, the reward is a place among the last eight of a tournament that has already produced upsets, shoot-out drama and a statement win from its holders. Germany, Morocco, Argentina and Poland, meanwhile, head home after a night that showed how fine the margins are at this level: two of them lost on penalties, one to a single goal, and one to a side that has now scored six without reply.

Sources: NigFooty, DailyMirror Nigeria.