FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup - Group D: Japan 2-0 France

Rabat: Japan booked their spot in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Morocco 2026 Round of 16 after defeating France 2-0 in their Group D tie on Wednesday.

Mei Hanashiro scored a brilliant last-gasp brace to secure a second successive victory for Japan and seal their place in the knockout stage with a match to spare.

Japan, who rang the changes in their starting line-up, were the dominant side against France but could not make their possession count until the final minutes of a tense encounter.

Hanashiro opened the scoring in the 88th minute with a long-range effort after excellent work from Asuka Tanaka to win the ball back.

The livewire forward, who came on the field as a 70th-minute substitute, then sealed the victory in the third minute of injury time to secure Japan's place in the knockout stages.

Photos: FIFA via Getty Images

Group D: Japan 2-0 France

Group E: New Taipei City Hang Yuan FC (TPE) 1-1 Manila Digger FC (PHI)

Group D: Tainan City FC (TPE) 1-3 Borneo FC Samarinda (IDN)

Group E: Kasuka FC (BRU) 0-2 Shan United FC (MYA)

Player to watch: Akram Afif (QAT)

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