South Africa U15 edged out by Ivory Coast in seven-goal Baku thriller

South Africa’s U15 side suffered a 4-3 defeat by Ivory Coast at the FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival in Baku on Thursday.

The result came after an eventful day for Selekedi Mogale’s team, who began with a convincing 5-1 victory over United Arab Emirates before narrowly losing to Ivory Coast, known as the Young Elephants.

Reatlegile Mosimane, the son of Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane, Camden Schaper and Bohlale Finger scored for South Africa in the defeat.

South Africa will play their final match of the tournament on Friday against the loser of the meeting between Uzbekistan and Niger, with 43rd place overall at stake.

It has been an inconsistent campaign for Mogale’s side, who finished the group stage in second place behind Estonia to remain in Tier B.

Their opening phase included emphatic victories over Anguilla and Maldives. South Africa defeated Anguilla 13-1 and Maldives 8-0, while they also recorded a 3-2 win against France.

However, those results were followed by a 2-1 loss to Kosovo and a goalless draw with Estonia.

South Africa then advanced in the Last 16 of Tier B by beating Malaysia 6-2. Their progress was halted on Wednesday when Portugal won 2-1 with a last-minute free-kick.

The team responded with another strong attacking display against United Arab Emirates on Thursday, scoring five times. They were unable to complete the day with another victory, though, as Ivory Coast claimed a narrow win in a seven-goal contest.