FIFA U15 World Cup: Morocco and Algeria suffer setbacks as Senegal and Cameroon advance

The knockout stages of the FIFA U15 World Cup and Festival in Azerbaijan produced a series of surprises on Wednesday, with Morocco, Algeria and Cote d’Ivoire seeing their hopes of winning their respective divisions weakened. Cameroon and Senegal, however, secured places in the quarter-finals, while Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Tunisia and Benin also impressed.

The tournament is being played at the Hovsan sports complex near Baku, where teams have been placed in different divisions according to their performances in the opening phase. The competition uses a format in which elimination from the title race does not end a team’s involvement, with further classification matches scheduled after defeats.

Morocco were beaten 1-0 by Paraguay in the last 16 of Division A. The Lionceaux de l’Atlas had made a strong start to the tournament but will now compete in classification matches rather than continue their challenge for the divisional title.

Guinea advanced to the quarter-finals after winning an all-African tie against Egypt 4-2. Ghana remain the other African representatives competing for the Division A crown.

Algeria endured another disappointing result after being knocked out by Guinea on penalties in the last 16 earlier on Wednesday. Karim Ziani’s side then suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat by Albania in a classification match. Cameroon provided a more positive result by beating Cyprus 2-1 in the Division A honour matches.

In Division B, Senegal produced one of the day’s biggest victories, defeating Costa Rica 6-1. Abdoulaye Diallo scored a hat-trick, Pierre Fleury Mbengue added two goals and Georges Kanfom completed the scoring.

Senegal will face Madagascar in the quarter-finals after Madagascar beat Uzbekistan 4-1. Cote d’Ivoire, meanwhile, were edged out 2-1 by Argentina. The result ended a run of impressive attacking performances from the Elephanteaux, who had beaten Rwanda 5-0 and the Turks and Caicos Islands 6-0. They will continue in the classification matches.

Mali also lost their last-16 tie, going down 4-2 to Slovakia, while Congo-Brazzaville were narrowly beaten 3-2 by China in a classification fixture.

Tunisia were emphatic winners in Division C, overcoming Thailand 5-0. They will meet France in Thursday’s quarter-finals. Benin also advanced after a high-scoring West African contest against Nigeria ended in a 6-3 victory.

In Division D, Democratic Republic of the Congo defeated Oman 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals. Lesotho eliminated Tahiti on penalties after a 3-3 draw, winning the shootout 5-4. Togo suffered the opposite outcome against Jordan, losing 2-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

Although several of Africa’s leading contenders have lost their chance to win their divisions, a number of teams from the continent remain in contention for quarter-final places. Those eliminated from the title race will continue competing in international classification matches until the tournament concludes.