U17 AFCON: Morocco win Group A, Ethiopia stun Tunisia to keep World Cup hopes alive

Hosts Morocco are the confirmed winners of Group A at the 2026 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (U17 AFCON) while Ethiopia found a dramatic late winning goal to avoid an early exit against Tunisia to finish Tuesday’s action.

A strong first half carried the hosts to a 2-1 victory over Egypt, who also joined their fellow North African nation in qualifying for the 2026 U-17 World Cup later this year despite the defeat. Mohamed Moustache opened the scoring in the 18th minute before Ismaïl El Aoud’s excellent pass sent towering forward Imran Talai in on goal to make it 2-0 just before halftime.

Egypt replied early in the second half but a strong second half performance was not enough to threaten the Atlas Lion Cubs, who finished the group stage with an undefeated record.

Ethiopia’s first U17 AFCON victory in over 20 years revives World Cup dream

But the other match featured plenty of drama with one North African nation experiencing heartbreak. Ethiopia, given little chance to advance out of Group A, kept their World Cup qualification hopes alive courtesy of Amir Misbah’s header in the third minute of second half stoppage time to defeat Tunisia 1-0.

Making their first appearance at the U-17 tournament since 2003, when it was known as the African U-17 Championship, the Red Foxes remain in contention to make their first-ever appearance at a U-17 World Cup. Needing a victory to avoid elimination, Misbah’s late goal sparked wild celebrations for the team led by American coach Benjamin Zimmer.

FULL-TIME! 🇹🇳🇪🇹

Ethiopia strike in the dying moments to secure all three points. 🔥#TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 pic.twitter.com/Y2z1nwdOdK

— CAF Online (@CAF_Online) May 19, 2026

They finish in third place in Group A and will play in one of the play-in matches for the third place teams from each group, with the winners from the two matches qualifying for the World Cup. A clash against Group C’s third place team awaits, with potential opponents including Mali, Angola or Mozambique.