FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023: France U-17 football team on brink of disqualification

Yanis Issoufou, a French player has played for two nations

The French U-17 national football team could be DISQUALIFIED from the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023 for having played Yanis Issoufou. He has also played for Niger in the qualifying stage.

FIFA prohibits players from playing for two international teams in the same competition and could take action. France’s opponents also have the right to file a complaint, as reported by Hanif Ben Berkane.

The presence of Yanis Issoufou in the squad. The Montpellier striker took part in the entire group phase, playing in all three matches, two of them as a starter. Nothing unusual so far, except for one detail: Yanis Issoufou had played for Niger’s U17 national team a few months earlier.

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Issoufou played for Niger against Côte d’Ivoire and Benin at the 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tournament in Ghana in 2022. He scored a goal in the loss to the Ivorians, before being voted man of the match in a 3-1 win against Benin.

According to Sport News Africa, FIFA was not notified of his change of sporting nationality, and some members of the French coaching staff were unaware of his past with Niger. It now remains to be seen whether Burkina Faso will lodge an appeal to be considered for the next round of the tournament.

France U-17 are playing Senegal U-17 in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023 Round of 16 match. The French team won their group convincingly.

A 3-0 win in the first match against Burkina Faso was followed by a narrow 1-0 win against the South Korean U-17 side. In the last game, France won 3-0 convincingly against the USA U-17 team. Issoufou started in the match against the Americans.

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