Unbelievable earthquake at the U17 World Cup

The U17 England side suffered a heavy 0-3 defeat against U17 Venezuela in the opening game of the 2025 U17 World Cup finals, creating the tournament's initial upset.

On the night of November 4th, one of the favorites for the title at the 2025 U17 World Cup finals, U17 England shocked everyone by losing 0-3 to U17 Venezuela in the opening match of Group E. This unexpected result saw the "Young Lions" deliver a poor performance, lacking efficiency in finishing despite creating numerous chances.

The match began with signs of bad luck for U17 England. In the 5th minute, midfielder Seth Ridgeon hit the post with a shot, followed by Reigan Heskey — son of former striker Emile Heskey — missing an unbelievable chance by shooting wide into an open goal. Subsequent opportunities also slipped away in disappointment, with shots being denied by goalkeeper Vazquez and the Venezuelan crossbar.

While the English players were still struggling to find the net, they received a costly lesson from their opponents. In the 41st minute, Venezuela's captain Roman Davis stole the ball from the English players and unleashed a precise angled shot to open the scoring. Just two minutes later, a strong press from Venezuela allowed Fuentes to score, doubling the lead to 2-0 — a sequence within 180 seconds that completely shattered U17 England's morale.

In the second half, despite U17 England's relentless attacking efforts, they could not break through Venezuela's solid defense. Opposing goalkeeper Vazquez delivered an outstanding performance with several crucial saves, including at least three top-class stops, frustrating England’s attackers.

As the English players’ confidence nearly ran out, Eider Barrios sealed a 3-0 victory for Venezuela in the 86th minute, concluding a night to forget for coach Greg Lincoln’s squad. This was a disappointing loss, especially since U17 England was expected to comfortably overcome this opponent.

Conversely, the U17 Venezuela victory was a remarkable achievement. Although they did not dominate possession, they maximized every rare opportunity and secured a convincing win. According to Goal, this is the largest margin of victory in the history of Venezuela’s youth teams at World Cups. For U17 England, this defeat represents a major shock on their debut and will undoubtedly serve as a valuable learning experience for the young players.

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