Five African U15 talents who made their mark at the World Cup

The first-ever U15 World Cup in Azerbaijan provided a stage for a group of promising African players, with Algeria, Morocco, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana all producing stand-out performers.

Senegal’s Abdoulaye Diallo, who scored 23 goals in 10 matches for Salam Academie Foot, was the tournament’s most prolific player. But he was not the only young African talent to attract attention in Baku.

Meharzi leads Algeria’s attack

Abdelkarim Meharzi scored 14 goals in 10 games and emerged as one of the competition’s leading attractions.

The Olympique Akbou forward, who captained Algeria and wore the number 10 shirt, scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Argentina. He also netted twice against Suriname, scored four against Taiwan and completed a hat-trick against Kenya in a 4-3 defeat during the classification matches.

Although the Fennecs finished 28th, Meharzi’s performances under former Algeria international Karim Ziani marked him out as a player to watch in the domestic game.

Morocco, who ended the tournament in 13th place, were also able to rely on a prolific attacker in Said Noufii.

The CF Benguerir forward scored a hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Liberia, having already claimed braces against Belize and Curacao in victories by 6-0 and 7-0 respectively.

He added two more goals against Cameroon in a 4-1 win in the first knockout round, underlining his consistency in front of goal.

Ngome combines goals with creativity

Cameroon captain Randy Ngome finished the tournament with three goals and nine assists.

The Best Stars Limbe midfielder scored against Senegal in a 3-0 victory and found the net again in a 2-0 win over Bahrain. His main influence, however, came through his vision, technique and ability to create opportunities for team-mates.

Ngome had already been named best U14 player at the 2023 Limbe International Tournament before being selected as the best U16 player in 2025, suggesting his progress has been closely followed for several years.

Cote d’Ivoire’s Berte Cheick Hamed Tidiane is another player attracting interest. The FC San Pedro midfielder had represented the Ivorian U16 side at the International Dream Cup in Japan in June before joining the squad for the U15 World Cup.

He featured during the Elephanteaux’s impressive start, when they scored 22 goals without conceding in their opening three matches against Rwanda, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Vanuatu, winning 5-0, 6-0 and 11-0.

His development is particularly notable because FC San Pedro is regarded as one of Cote d’Ivoire’s most promising academies and has made youth development central to its progress.

Sulemana drives Ghana’s run

Ghana forward Shamsudeen Sulemana helped his side secure seventh place, most notably with four goals in a 5-2 win over Mexico that sent the Black Stars into the quarter-finals.

He also scored against Myanmar and Kazakhstan, and twice against the Bahamas.

Sulemana had previously finished as the leading scorer in Ghana’s national U15 championship, run as part of FIFA’s talent development programme, in 2024. He was named the competition’s best player in 2025 and earned a trial opportunity with Milan AC that year.

The tournament offered all five players valuable international exposure, although physical maturity and the transition to senior 11-a-side football mean their long-term prospects remain difficult to predict.