ZURICH – The Under – 17 Women’s World Cup provides a wonderful showcase for young footballers to make a name for themselves in front of a global audience. While one never knows which players will break out to become stars, the respective qualifying campaigns of the teams offer a glimpse into who could shine bright.
FIFA take a look at the players who were qualifying heroes for their nations and will be ones to watch at the ongoing Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Dominican Republic. Zambia – Namute Chileshe For the first time in ten years Zambia are in the U-17 Women’s World Cup after emerging victorious from African qualifying. Zambia were tested in each round, but every time it was Chileshe who answered the call, notably with a hat-trick in the 3-1 first leg victory against Morocco in the decisive final round. She’ll be looking to be just as influential for her country in the Caribbean. Nigeria – Harmony Chidi In their six qualifying matches, Nigeria totaled a whopping 25 goals and Chidi nearly accounted for half of them, scoring 12 goals to help the India 2022 third-place finishers punch their ticket.
Chidi spread the wealth in doing so, scoring in each of the six games, including hat-tricks in a 6-0 win against Central Africa Republic and 6-0 triumph over Burkina Faso.
Ecuador – Domenica Arboleda
Ecuador will be playing in their first ever U-17 Women’s World Cup and Arboleda played a massive part in that historical achievement. She scored four goals in qualifying, finishing third among top scorers, the most important being the lone goal in a 1-0 final stage win versus Paraguay that secured passage to the Dominican Republic.
New Zealand – Laura Bennett
Speaking of impressive goal totals, New Zealand certainly flexed their scoring muscles in their qualifying campaign, finding the back of the net 51 times over the course of five games. Laura Bennett’s 10 goals led the way, including a five-goal haul in a 12-0 victory against Cook Islands.
Dominican Republic – Renata Mercedes
As the host nation, the Dominican Republic did not take part in qualifying but that does not mean members of their squad have been out of action. Look no further than Renata Mercedes, the 16-year-old defender who appeared in four matches for her country at the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup, helping the Caribbean side defeat Guyana 1-0 in the Prelims to advance to the group stage.
USA – Kennedy Fuller Already a professional with NWSL outfit Angel City FC, Fuller fired her way to eight goals at the 2024 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship to claim Golden Boot honours and help USA lift the trophy. The U-17 Women’s World Cup is the lone women’s football trophy that the USA lack, however a big performance from Fuller in the Dominican Republic could change that.
Spain – Alba Cerrato Spain are the reigning champions at the U-17 Women’s World Cup and they have another budding superstar in the form of Cerrato, who notched seven goals to claim Top Scorer and Best Player honours at the 2024 UEFA Women’s U-17 Championship. In all phases of qualifying, Cerrato finished with an astonishing 17 goals, including a score in the 4-0 win in the final over England.