Under-17 World Cup: Third-ranked team in a group has never won a championship

Belgium, Korea`s opponent in a round of 16, ranked third in Group D but still made it to the match as a wild card. In the history of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, how many times has a third-ranked team in a group beat a first-ranked team and made it to the quarterfinal? How many times have we seen such a "retaliation of the underdog"?

Since 2007 when the number of participating teams increased to 24, the Under-17 World Cup has had matches between a first-ranked team and a third-ranked team in the round of 16, and four third-ranked teams with a better score have made it to the round of 16 along with the first and second-ranked teams of all the six groups. Until 2005, there were 16 teams in the tournament and only the first and second-ranked teams of all the four groups advanced to the quarterfinals.

From 2007 to 2013, there were 16 matches between a first and third-ranked team in the round of 16, only two of the matches saw a third-ranked team winning against a first-ranked team. This means the odds are only 12.5 percent. Both of those "retaliation of underdogs" happened in 2013. Sweden, the third-ranked in Group F, defeated Japan, the first-ranked in Group D, and the Ivory Coast, the third-ranked in Group B, defeated Morocco, the first-ranked in Group C, both 2-1.

In all the Under-17 World Cups, nine trophies went to first-ranked teams in their group while six trophies went to the second-ranked teams. A third-ranked team never became a champion. Since 2007 when the number of participants increased to 24, only the first-ranked teams have won the cups.

Only once has a third-ranked team made it to the semifinal. In 2013, Sweden did it after beating Japan in the round of 16 and Honduras (a second-ranked) in the quarterfinal, and finally won against Argentina (a first-ranked team) in the third-place match. Nigeria, Mexico and Sweden, the medalist countries of the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup that ranked respectively first, second, and third place, were all from Group F.

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