FIFA U-17 World Cup: Portugal beats Brazil in penalty shootout and plays final against Austria

The FIFA Under-17 World Cup will have a new champion as Portugal and Austria reached their first ever final on Monday. Portugal defeated Brazil 6–5 in sudden death, while Austria defeated Italy 2–0.

Austria’s recent momentum in international football continues, with the senior men’s team ending a 28-year wait to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Now the U-17 side have added to that surge and booked a place in the final after a brace from Johannes Moser.

Moser, the tournament’s highest goalscorer (eight goals in seven games), opened the scoring in the 57th minute, converting a perfectly executed through ball and doubling the lead with a brilliant free kick in second-half stoppage time.

Tight match

However, the other semi-final between Portugal and Brazil was rather reserved. Only four shots – two from each side – were on target the entire match, while 35 errors were made in the match.

Brazil, the second most successful team in the competition with four titles, sought an early breakthrough through Dell, nicknamed the Haaland of Sertão and currently the tournament’s second highest scorer with five goals in seven games.

However, Portuguese goalkeeper Romário Cunha guarded the goal with authority, saving two of his attempts as the match went into penalty shootouts.

Both teams converted the first four penalties, but Cunha missed Portugal’s fifth penalty, firing it over the crossbar. Brazil could have won the match, but Ruan Pablo hit the woodwork.

José Neto scored the seventh penalty for Portugal, and while his teammates waited at half-time, Angelo Candido missed for Brazil, sealing Portugal’s place in the first-ever U-17 World Cup final.

Austria and Portugal will meet in the final at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on November 27. The third place match between Brazil and Italy will be played earlier on the same day at the Aspire Academy in Doha.

Published on November 25, 2025