The United States Under-17 women’s national team opened the U-17 World Cup in Morocco on Monday with a 17-0 victory over Samoa, the largest margin of victory in a World Cup match.
The 17-0 margin was a record for any national team at any level in an 11-a-side World Cup, topping the previous record set by Morocco’s Under-17 national team, which defeated New Caledonia 16-0 in the men’s U-17 World Cup last year.
Forward Maddie DiMaria opened scoring for the U.S. in the second minute, setting the pace for the team’s dominant performance over the small island nation. U.S. captain Mia Angeline Corona continued that momentum, scoring off a corner in the 12th minute. Then the goals kept coming.
Ten U.S. players scored, with DiMaria leading the way with six. Corona (1), Loradana Paletta (2), Grace Murray (1), Amari Manning (1), Deus Stanislaus (1), Carolina Reyna (2), Isabella Ortiz (1), Meila Brewer (1) and Gianna Hanf (1).
“We’re really happy with the result,” U.S. head coach Ciara Crinion said after the game. “We knew the first game can be a tough game with the emotions and everything that goes with it. So, we wanted to have a good performance, and we felt like we got that and continued to be able to put the ball in the back of the net.”
DiMaria became the first player to record six goals in a World Cup match across all levels, scoring in the 2nd, 18th, 20th, 30th, 70th and 73rd minutes before exiting the pitch five minutes after notching that record-breaking goal. The senior-level record remains five goals (Michelle Akers, 1991 women’s World Cup; Alex Morgan, 2019 women’s World Cup; and Oleg Salenko, 1994 men’s World Cup).
DiMaria and Dallas Trinity FC defender Brewer are the only players on the roster who also played in last year’s edition of the tournament, when the U.S. went out on penalty kicks in the Round of 16, falling 7-6 in a shootout to the Netherlands after a 1-1 tie in regulation. Brewer is the only professional player on the team, with the defender joining Dallas in September after a cap-less season with the Kansas City Current in the NWSL.
Two U.S. players recorded braces against Samoa, including from 15-year-old Paletta, the youngest player on the roster who also trains with NYCFC’s boys’ team, and Reyna, younger sister to U.S. men’s star Gio Reyna. The Reynas became the first brother-sister duo to play and score for the U.S. at a World Cup.
This was Samoa’s first appearance in the U-17 women’s World Cup. The U-17 competition is being held annually on both the women’s and men’s sides through 2029, as FIFA emphasizes youth development across the globe. Notably, FIFA recently expanded both the men’s and women’s tournaments, with the women’s edition for a second year in a row open to 24 national teams, up from 16 teams in 2024 and every edition prior.
That expansion comes with growing pains. Samoa’s roster is far less developed than the United States’, with six players on their national team roster listed as “free agents,” meaning they are not associated with an organized club. Ten Samoan players play in the U.S., three play in Australia and one in New Zealand. Only one player — Foaiina Malae — is associated with a Samoan club, Vaivase-Tai FC.
Monday’s score was reminiscent of the U.S. women’s national team’s 13-0 win over Thailand at the 2019 women’s World Cup in France, which is when Morgan scored five goals in a single match — coincidentally also the second World Cup following FIFA’s edition to expand the competition to 24 teams. At the time, there was swift backlash over the U.S.’s blowout victory. Morgan at the time countered that it would have been “disrespectful” to Thailand if the team had not played their “best” for a full match.
The U.S. U-17 women continue World Cup action on Thursday, when they face Kenya, before closing out the group stage against China on Sunday. Both matches kickoff at 2 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women's national team, Women's Soccer
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