U17 World Cup: The full list of tournament opening matches | OneFootball

The complete list of U17 World Cup opening matches

المغرب/@CAF

The curtain will rise on the 2025 U17 World Cup on November 3 in Qatar. This will be a groundbreaking edition, featuring 48 teams for the first time in the tournament’s history.

The opening match will see South Africa, one of the 10 African teams qualified for the finals, take on Bolivia. This marks Bolivia's second time playing in an opening fixture after the 1985 edition (1-1 against China). For South Africa, it will be their debut in an opening match.

Below is the full list of U17 World Cup opening matches:

1985: China U17 - Bolivia U17 (1-1)

1987: Ivory Coast U17 - South Korea U17 (1-1)

1989: Scotland U17 - Ghana U17 (0-0)

1991: Italy U17 - United States U17 (0-1)

1993: Japan U17 - Ghana U17 (0-1)

1995: Ecuador U17 - United States U17 (2-0)

1997: Egypt U17 - Thailand U17 (3-2)

1999: New Zealand U17 - United States U17 (1-2)

2001: Trinidad and Tobago U17 - Croatia U17 (1-2)

2003: Finland U17 - China U17 (2-1)

2005: Uruguay U17 - Mexico U17 (0-2)

2007: North Korea U17 - England U17 (1-1)

2009: Mexico U17 - Switzerland U17 (0-2)

2011: Mexico U17 - North Korea U17 (3-1)

2013: Brazil U17 - Slovakia U17 (6-1)

2015: England U17 - Guinea U17 (1-1)

2017: Colombia U17 - Ghana U17 (0-1)

2019: Brazil U17 - Canada U17 (4-1)

2023: Panama U17 - Morocco U17 (0-2)

2025: South Africa U17 - Bolivia U17