The Puerto Rico women’s national under-17 soccer team suffered a 6-0 loss to North Korea on Saturday in their historic debut at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco. The match, played at the Complejo de Fútbol Mohammed VI in Rabat, marked a milestone for Puerto Rican soccer, as it was the first time a Puerto Rican team had participated in a FIFA World Cup in any category.
However, the debut was a challenging one, as Puerto Rico faced the reigning two-time world champion and most successful team in the tournament, with four titles. North Korea dominated the first half 5-0. Puerto Rico had secured their spot in the tournament in March by finishing fourth in the Concacaf preliminary round, edging out Costa Rica on goal difference.
Despite the loss, Puerto Rico still has two group stage matches left to play and can still compete for a spot in the next round. Their next match is on Tuesday, October 20, against Nigeria, and they will close out the group stage on Friday, October 23, against Poland. The tournament features 24 teams divided into six groups of four teams, with the top two teams from each group and the four best third-place teams advancing to the round of 16.
Puerto Rico’s team, led by their coach, will look to bounce back from the loss and make a strong showing in their remaining matches.