The 6th FIFA U17 World Championship 2001

The Finals

2001 Champions: France

The French put on a dazzling display, with goals from the player-of-the-tournament Florent Sinama Pongolle, Anthony Le Tallec and Samuel Pietre.

Pongolle's opening goal was his ninth of the tournament, making him the all-time leading scorer, replacing Germany's Marcel Witeczek who hit eight goals in the 1985 U-16 China-held competition won by Nigeria.

Africa's representatives for this year's competition came from the U-17 African Championships held in the Seychelles.

16 teams divided into four groups of four teams each participated after qualifying from the following continental tournaments:

• 3 from UEFA - Spain, France and Croatia
• 3 from CAF - Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Mali
• 3 from AFC - Oman, Iran and Japan
• 3 from CONCACAF - Trinidad and Tobago (hosts), USA and Costa Rica
• 3 from CONMEBOL - Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay
• 1 from OFC - Australia