Johannes Moser’s double sends Austria into first U17 World Cup final

Austria U17 beat Italy 2-0 in the U17 World Cup semi-final on Monday afternoon, qualifying for the final for the first time in their history.

Italy’s Samuele Inacio and Thomas Campaniello saw their efforts drift wide just inside the three-minute mark, setting the tempo for the remainder of the first half.

Austria’s first sight of the Italian goal came in the 19th minute, when Hasan Deshishku fired an effort beyond goal, before Nicolas Jozepovic registered their first shot on target.

The Italians continued to dominate afterwards, and Jean Mambuku should have broken the deadlock from close range, but failed to hit the target.

Despite Italy’s dominance, Daniel Posch in the Austria goal did not make a save before the break.

Daniele Franceschini’s were made to rue their missed chances as Austria scored just before the hour mark, through Johannes Moser, who picked the bottom right corner from inside the area.

Mambuku and Thomas Campaniello squandered missed openings to restore parity for Italy.

Italy were reduced to ten men in stoppage time as Benit Borasio was shown a red card for a dangerous foul.

Shortly after, Moser sealed the victory, smashing a right-footed shot into the top left corner, netting his eighth goal of the tournament.

The Austrian youngster is now two goals shy of equalling the record for most goals scored (10) in a single edition of the tournament, set by Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen in 2015.

24 November 2025

Austria will now face the winner of the Brazil-Portugal semi-final clash in Thursday’s final at the Khalifa International Stadium.