17-0! Record-breaking USWNT U17 crushes Samoa in WC opener

The United States Under-17 women's national team kicked off its 2026 World Cup campaign in record-shattering fashion Monday, crushing Samoa 17-0 in Rabat, Morocco, for the biggest win at any level in World Cup history. With 10 different players on the scoresheet, the U.S. surpassed the previous record, a 16-0 win by Morocco against New Caledonia in last year's men's U-17 tournament, to secure the largest margin of victory ever recorded in a World Cup. "I wasn't aware [we were breaking a record], but I'm super proud of this group and it's nice that they have something like that behind their name," U.S. coach Ciara Crinion said in an interview posted on FIFA's website. Forward Maddie DiMaria spearheaded the relentless U.S. attack, opening the scoring just 63 seconds in and netting six goals total. She became the first player in competition history to score six times in a single match, and the first at any FIFA finals since Norway's Erling Haaland scored nine at the 2019 U-20 World Cup. "That means everything; he's an inspiration," DiMaria said of Haaland, holding the match ball postgame. "Watching his desire and ruthlessness around the box ... to be the next player behind that is just such an honor. I'm super blessed to have all those girls finding me in the right places." DiMaria also became the first player to score six goals in a FIFA women's World Cup match at any level. The only two players to previously score five goals in a World Cup were both Americans: Michelle Akers vs. Chinese Taipei in 1991 and Alex Morgan vs. Thailand in 2019. The U.S. mounted a 9-0 lead by halftime -- tying Germany's 2010 tournament record for first-half goals -- and racked up 58 shots over 90 minutes. Carolina Reyna, sister of USMNT midfielder Gio Reyna, and Loradana Paletta each added two goals, while Grace Murray, Amari Manning, Deus Stanislaus, Ortiz Isa, Melia Brewer, and Gianna Hanf also scored. The U.S. resumes Group E action on Thursday against Kenya, who dropped their opener 3-0 to China PR. "We know every game is different... But, when you go in and play Kenya, that game starts 0-0," Crinion added. "It's about how we rest, recover and we'll prepare for them. We know it'll be a different game, a different challenge and we'll start from square one again."