Under-17 World Cup: Fabregas, Kroos and every Golden Boot and Golden Ball winner from 1985 to 2025

Martin Macdonald

• 29 Nov 2025 05:30 CST
• 5 min read

Nieuws

The Under-17 World Cup has concluded in Qatar, with Portugal emerging as winners following a 1-0 victory against Austria.

The final was a tight affair decided by just one goal scored by Anísio Cabral.

Portugal reached the final having defeated Belgium, Mexico, Switzerland and Brazil in the knockout stages, while Austria overcame Tunisia, England, Japan and Italy.

48 nations took part in the tournament and the 2025 edition was the last of the bi-annual World Cup scheduling as from now it, it will be a yearly event.

From 2025 to 2029 it will be held in Qatar.

The defending champions from 2023 were Germany but they suffered a shock elimination by Burkina Faso in the last-16 stage which was the worst performance by a reigning champion who qualified for the next tournament.

For the u17 World Cup, Romario Cunha was named as the Goalkeeper of the Tournament, whilst Mateus Mide was named as the Player of the Tournament.

Wenger and Xavi was with them. 🏆❤️✨ pic.twitter.com/HvkilaLNtO

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) November 27, 2025

As with all Under-17 World Cups, there were a few young gems who emerged who we'll need to keep an eye on for the future.

The winner of the Golden Ball, the award given to the best player of the tournament, was presented to Portugal's Mateus Mide who has a striking resemblance to current Portugal senior star Vitinha, not just in his physical appearance but how he moves on the pitch.

The 17-year-old attacking midfielder plays for Porto and he was presented with the Golden Ball award by Barcelona and Spain legend Xavi.

Mide's compatriot Mauro Furtado won the Bronze Ball in third place, while Austria's Johannes Moser won the Silver Ball.

The Under-17 World Cup can often provide signs about the superstars of the future as previous winners of the Golden Ball include Cesc Fabregas, Toni Kroos and Phil Foden.

As for the Golden Boot, that was won by the aforementioned Moser, who scored eight goals to fire Austria to the final.

Cabral, who scored the winner in the final, netted seven goals in total, while Dell of Brazil scored five.

10 players scored four in the tournament: Hasan Deshishku, Rene Mitongo, Vit Skrkon, Reigan Heskey, Samuele Inacio, Raymond Bomba, Kim Yu-Jin, Ziyad Baha, Ismail El Aoud, Mateus Mide and Jose Neto.

Patrick Berger of Sky Sports Germany suggested that the head coach of the Austria senior side, Ralf Rangnick, should consider taking Moser to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.

"We have Lennart Karl, the Austrians have Johannes Moser," he said on Sky's transfer update show.

"A hugely exciting player, born in 2008, still only 17 and that makes him very interesting. He is not only capable of playing in attacking midfield but also on the left wing. He can take set pieces too. He was the big surprise of this U17 World Cup. He's surely a candidate for Ralf Rangnick when it comes to the senior national team."

Previous Golden Boot winners have gone on to great things like Victor Osimhen, Fabregas and Carlos Vela.

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