Draw | FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025™

Now we're moving to the second part of this evening. Never before have so many of the planet's best young players been given an opportunity to showcase their skills on the global stage. It is here in Qatar where this historic step is being taken. As for the first time, 48 teams come here to compete, learn, and they hope to leave as world champions. Today's group stage draw is a key marker along that road and will lay out the map from the starting point on November 3rd through to the final 24 days later. Of course, we all remember how we saw one of the greatest of all time, Lionel Messi, left the biggest trophy in football right here three years ago at the best FIFA World Cup ever. This year, football unites the world again in Qatar. I am football. I'm made for this game and I'll keep going because I'm built different. Nothing stands in my way. I fall, but I rise again. In the face of exhaustion, I discover my strength. I push for more. One more chance to break through. No pitch, no problem. No ball, no problem. Keep your eyes open. Watch me. Remember my name. Greatness isn't given. It's earned. Don't blink. You'll get to say I was there when a new star was born. You'll get to say I watched a legend rise. I'm that guy. I'm tomorrow's gold. For the next five years, the 48 best under-17 teams will come to Qatar with ambitions of taking the next step. Qatar will be where we discover new talents, the superstars of tomorrow competing for their countries today. Talking about superstars today with us, we have someone every young player dreams and admires, a FIFA World Cup winner who has played for some of the best European clubs. Please welcome the world champion, Julian Draxler. Good evening, Julian. Great to have you here. Nice tie, by the way. Coincident or you meant the colour? I tried my best. So we know that Germany is the defending champion. What you can tell us about the system in Germany that led Germany to win and what do you think about Germany coming to Qatar competing in this competition? I mean, we had some rough years in the last years, but now I think we have some very good talents coming up and I hope that they can show this in this under-17 tournament because, you know, very important age, they are close to reach the professional level and I think they can be very happy to come here and compete at the highest stage, best facilities here in Qatar. And yeah, it's their chance to show themselves, you know. Earlier, we were talking about Lamine Yamal with this age, 17, almost competing for the Ballon d'Or. Do you think football changing and we'll see more of players in this age playing at high level? You played with Schalke at age of 17 as well. Yes, maybe not on the level of Yamal today, but still not bad. And yeah, I mean, for me, football in general is not about ages. It's you're good or you're not good. And when you see young guys like that, you know, that people go to the stadium to see those kind of players and I don't see why it's important if you're 16, 17 or 25 or 30. If you're good, you're good. Again, welcome Julian Draxler. And now let's welcome a second guest. One man who knows all about that is our second assistant this evening. He played in this competition the last time Qatar qualified before going to represent his country at senior level too. Please welcome Abdelaziz Slaty. Good evening, Abdelaziz. Good evening. 20 years ago, 2005, you played the World Cup U-17 with Qatar in Peru with a very, very tough group with Brazil, Holland and Gambia. Brazil and Holland both went to second and third in that competition. What do you still remember from that competition? Away from the red card that your brother got, by the way. So we were playing together, me and my brother in the U-17 World Cup in 2005. I played, but he played only two minutes and he got a red card. But he was in Guinness record being the fastest red card giving to a player in the World Cup, which is still something good being in Guinness record. Yeah, it's unforgettable. So let's move on. So what I remember from this tournament that it was a good experience. Unforgettable. I enjoyed every moment of it. And this is my advice to every young player. Just seize the moment. Enjoy the game. Enjoy yourself and show your ability. Let's say an exhibition for yourself to show your talent, to show everything. And the world sees you. So this is your opportunity. What advice can you give to Qatar national team? You lost three games to Holland, Brazil and Gambia. You lost and you left from the first round. Do you think this generation has better opportunity, more experience to compete in this coming World Cup, especially that it's going to be here in Qatar? They have better conditions, better preparation than we used to have. And I know coach Alvaro is doing a great job with the team. I know we have a group of good, talented players that they can move to the second round. I believe in the next five editions, one of Qatar national teams will be in the second round. I don't know if it's this year or the next, but I'm sure this will happen. Please welcome again, Abdulaziz Suleiman. Now, there is just one person missing, the man who is going to guide us through today's draw. It's FIFA's head of youth tournaments, Mr. Roberto Grassi. Good evening. And welcome to the U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025 draw. A particular moment for all of us. And I'm very happy to be here in Qatar. Qatar is home for me for many reasons, and very happy and privileged to be here tonight. What a spectacular country for a spectacular tournament that we are going to witness this winter. As you know, we have 48 teams in the group stage for the very first time. And let's have a look at how the draw is going to work. The FIFA U-17 World Cup enters a new era as Qatar welcomes the world once again in 2025. Expanded and now an annual event, the FIFA U-17 World Cup is a future-defining step in FIFA's strategy to make football truly global. Three years after hosting the best FIFA World Cup ever, Qatar will now be ground zero for elite youth football development. Over the next five years, the world's top young talents will find a home here with more opportunities than ever before to showcase their skills on the global stage. The groundbreaking 2025 tournament kicks off on the 3rd of November with the state-of-the-art Aspire Zone as its beating heart. This single centralized hub of football history will foster a festival atmosphere over the 25 days of competition, creating an inspiring environment for teams to excel and a family-friendly experience for fans to enjoy with a unique blend of fun activities, global flavors and world-class football. They will all dream of reaching Khalifa International Stadium on the 27th of November when one of the jewels of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 provides the stunning backdrop to the final and the stage where the new U-17 World Champions will be crowned. For the 48 teams who have qualified, the journey towards the trophy continues with the draw. They'll go into four pots, each containing 12 teams. Each team is placed in a pot according to their FIFA ranking, which is based on their results in the last five editions of the tournament. We'll kick off the draw with Pot 1, which contains the host nation and the 11 highest-ranked teams. We then proceed to Pots 2, 3 and 4 in sequence. As the teams are drawn, they will be placed into 12 groups from A to L. The pot a team is drawn from is also the position they will occupy in their group. So teams from Pot 1 go in Position 1, teams from Pot 2 in Position 2 and so on. Hosts Qatar will be indicated by a red ball in Pot 1 and will be automatically allocated Position 1 in Group A. There is one more thing to consider. We may not always go in order from A to L. This is due to a key FIFA principle that each group can have only one team per confederation. Very well, so I hope everything is clear. Julian, all good. Abdulaziz, we have a lot of work to do. We have to draw 48 teams. But before we do that and we start with Pot 1, let's have a look at the action of the best 12 teams. Here we go. So Julian, to you, to draw the first ball, the red one, please. Qatar. Very good. We have Qatar, our host for the next five editions of this tournament. So Qatar will go in Position 1 of Group A. Let's continue, Julian, with the next team. Japan. Japan, they will go in Group B, Position 1, of course. Let's continue. Senegal. Senegal, the African team will go in Group C, Position 1. Next one, Julian. Argentina. Argentina, the FIFA World Cup champion. They will go in Group D, Position 1. So next team, Julian, please. England. England, they won this tournament in 2017 in India. So they will go in Group E, Position 1. One more. Mexico. Mexico, the team from CONCACAF will go to Group F, Position 1. Let's continue, Julian, please. Germany. And we have Germany, your team, Julian, and the current champion of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. They won two years ago in Indonesia. So Germany will go in Group G, Position 1. Next team. Brazil. Brazil, from South America, they will go to Group H, Position 1. We have four more teams to draw in Pot 1. Let's go. USA. USA will grow in Group I, Position 1. Let's continue, Julian, please. Paraguay. Paraguay will go in Group J, Position 1. Two teams left. Let's go, Julian. France. We have France. They are the runner-up of the last edition of this tournament. They lost against Germany. They will go in Group K, Position 1. And let's see who we have in the last ball. Mali. And it is Mali, the African team, will go in Group L, Position 1. So we have finished Pot 1. But before we go and draw the Pot 2 teams, let's see some actions from those teams. So here in Pot 2. Julian, are you ready? Let's give it a nice cheer and we start. Italy. The European team will join Qatar in Group A, Position 2. And this will be the opening match of this tournament. What a nice fixture to start the tournament. Qatar against Italy. Let's go to the next team. Morocco. Morocco will go in Group B, Position 2. Let's continue, Julian, please. Croatia. Croatia will go in Group C, again, in Position 2. As all these teams will occupy the same position in the group. So Croatia, C2. Let's go to the next. Belgium. Belgium will go in Group D, joining Argentina. Okay, next one, Julian. Venezuela. Venezuela, also here, will go in Group E, joining England. So next one. Korea Republic. Korea Republic will go in Group F, together with Mexico. So we can go to the next team, Julian. We're going very smooth. Colombia. Colombia will go in Position 2, in Group G, together with Germany. Next one. Honduras. Honduras will go to Group H, in Position 2, with Brazil. Okay, we go to the next team. Four teams left. Burkina Faso. And Burkina Faso will join USA in Group I, Position 2. Next team, Julian, please. Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan, the Asian team, will go with Paraguay in Group J. Next one. Chile. Chile will go with France in Group K. And let's go with the last team of Pot 2. New Zealand. And here we have New Zealand going Group L. Julian, congratulations. No constraint, very well done, very smooth. But stay with us, because we're going to need you later for some interviews. We are halfway through, but before we move to Pot 3, let's have a look at these teams. And here we are, Abdulaziz, now it's with you. Let's start with Pot 3. Let's give it a nice tear, and then we can start. South Africa. South Africa will join Qatar and Italy in Group A, Position 3. One more, Abdulaziz. New Caledonia. New Caledonia, the Pacific Islander, will go in Group B, in Position 3. Next one. Costa Rica. Costa Rica, they will join Senegal and Croatia in Group C, in Position 3. Let's continue. Tunisia. Tunisia will go in Group D with Argentina and Belgium. We can go to the next team. Haiti. Haiti will go in Group E, Position 3, joining England and Venezuela. So we can go to the next team. Cote d'Ivoire. Cote d'Ivoire will go in Group F, always Position 3, as all teams in this pot. So let's go to the next. Korea DPR. Korea DPR will join Germany and Colombia. It's going to be a very nice group. So G3 for Korea DPR. Next team. Panama. We have now Panama, and we have to skip two groups here because Panama cannot be placed in the same group as Honduras and USA, because these are teams from the same confederation. Therefore, we will put Panama in Group J, Position 3. Abdulaziz, four more teams. Indonesia. Indonesia, the host of the last edition of the Under-17 FIFA World Cup two years ago. And Indonesia will go with Brazil and Honduras in Group H, Position 3. Next team. Tajikistan. Tajikistan will go in Group I, Position 3, with USA and Burkina Faso. Two more teams, Abdulaziz. Austria. The European team will have to go in Group L, because in Group K we have already France, that is from the same confederation as Austria, from UEFA. So Austria will go in Group L, Position 3. And let's see if we have the right team in the last ball. Canada. And Canada will go in Group K, Position 3, with France and Chile. Well done, Abdulaziz. We have already drawn 36 teams, which is a record for any FIFA tournament. So before we move to the last spot with the last 12 teams, let's have a look at those teams. Okay, we are ready for the last spot for this draw. In this spot we have five newcomers, as our FIFA president mentioned in his video. So let's start. Bolivia. The South American team will complete Group A and will go in Position 4 in Group A. So we have the first group set with Qatar, Italy, South Africa and Bolivia. Let's go to the next team, Abdulaziz. Portugal. What a group. Portugal will go in Group B, in Position 4, joining Japan, Morocco and New Caledonia. Next team, please, Abdulaziz. UAE. And UAE will join Group C, Position 4. So Senegal, Croatia, Costa Rica and UAE. Very well, let's keep going, Abdulaziz. Fiji. Fiji will go in Group D. Fiji is one of our newcomers for this tournament. So they will go to Position 4 in Group D, joining Argentina, Belgium and Tunisia. Next one, Abdulaziz. Egypt. The African team will go in Group E, Position 4. Let's go to the next. El Salvador. We will have to skip Group F because we have already Mexico in this group. So we will put El Salvador, which is also a newcomer for this tournament, in Group G, Position 4. Next one, Abdulaziz. Zambia. Zambia from Africa. They also cannot join Group F because we have Cote d'Ivoire in this group, same confederation as Zambia. So the African team will go in Group H, in Position 4. Zambia also is one of our newcomers. Please, Abdulaziz. Next team. Saudi Arabia. For Saudi Arabia, we have several constraints. So we have to skip a few groups and we need to put Saudi Arabia in Group L, in Position 4, together with Mali, New Zealand and Austria. So Saudi Arabia in Group L. Four more teams, Abdulaziz. Let's go. Uganda. Also here a newcomer for this tournament. Also for Uganda, we have to skip three groups because we have in this spot three European teams remaining. So we have to put Uganda in Group K, Position 4. Let's go, Abdulaziz, for the last three teams. Switzerland. Switzerland will go in Group F together with Mexico, Korea Republic and Cote d'Ivoire. Next one. Czechia. And Czechia will go in Group I, Position 4. We have one team left. Let's see if it is the right one. Republic of Ireland. And here we are. Republic of Ireland, also a newcomer from Europe, will go in Group J, Position 4. Guys, well done. Julian, Abdulaziz, congratulations. We have drawn 48 teams, which is again a record. First time ever we have 48 teams in a tournament. So thank you very much for your cooperation. And thank you. This concludes the draw. Mohamed, back to you. Thank you, Roberto. Well done, Julian. What do you think about Germany's group? Defending champion with Colombia, Korea, DPR and El Salvador. Yeah, I think Germany might be favorite in this group. But in football, you know, that doesn't mean anything. It's going to be tough matches. And hopefully I can see one or two. You still have three more years to go with the Lahle. So I think you'll be here close to the guys. You'll be supporting Germany and France as well. Because you played a great part of your career in France. Yes, that's correct. I mean, I'm German, but I played also six years in France. So I'm very interested in what's coming up for the future. And that's why I will try to attend a few games in this Under-17 World Cup. Thanks, Julian, for being here. Thank you. Abdelsalem, it looks like a tough group for Qatar, Italy, South Africa and Bolivia. It is a tough group. But I do believe that we have a chance to go to the second round. The only thing that they have to do, I have no doubt about their technical abilities. But they have to work on their mindset. How to free themselves from pressure. And just enjoy the moment and show yourself. Guys, well done. It's been a long... Thank you so much. I would like to thank you so much, Roberto, for being here with us. Thank you, my pleasure. Julian Draxler, thank you so much. Abdelsalem, thank you so much. And of course, you can join us here in Qatar as more history is made when the tournament is going to kick off. You can sign up for updates on ticket sales by going to fifa.com slash tickets. We will see you again in a unique milestone here in Qatar in November. When 48 teams packed with absolute best young talent in the world right now come here with dreams. Dreams of performing to their best. Dreams of winning matches. Dreams of lifting that trophy. And dreams of taking the next step towards becoming tomorrow's GOAT. Thank you very much. And see you here in Qatar. Thank you very much. And I promise to be in Qatar, God willing.