27 October 2026 – The South African U15 Boys National team pulled off a great upset when they defeated log leaders France 3-2 in a pulsating final group stages match in the inaugural FIFA U15 Boys World Cup and Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday.
The result saw them climb up the Group A table and finish second, and they will contest in Tier B against all the second-place finishers in the Tournament phase of the competition.
South Africa gave up a 2-0 lead when the French were awarded two penalties to level matters. And when it almost seemed the clash was destined for a draw, South Africa regained their advantage with a goal just a few minutes before the final whistle.
The South Africans finished on 10 points, one behind group winners Estonia, but level with France, with a better goal difference.
“The chances we created, we really worked hard for our goals and you could see even our arrogance on the ball keeping the ball, rotating the ball, even our structure you could see how dominant we were and we had done our homework on them and we felt like it was a good game and it’s been a test of tactical discipline as well as our technical ability and also showing that we can play on the world stage,” said SA coach Mogale.
Tuesday is rest day in the tournament with action returning on Wednesday.
In this phase, the Tournament Stage, South Africa will play in Tier B, against the teams that finished second across all the groups where in the end winners will face the winners, and losing teams lock horns with other losing nations for final positions.
Each team will play four to five games in this round, and there will be no extra time. A penalty shootout will be used to determine winners in the matches that are level at fulltime.
SAFA Media spoke to coach Mogale from Azerbaijan:
Your thoughts on the France match…
We executed our homework very well; we came with a game plan of pressing them high. We knew that number eight mustn’t play, he mustn’t get on the ball, so we always had a man on him. And we knew that their playing distances were very big so when we won the ball we could either carry or pass forward. We knew where to take advantage of in the opening stages of the game. It was a very good game, the fact that they struggled to get shots on target, to test our keeper, I think they had one chance which went to the keeper, and another two were penalties. The chances we created, we really worked hard for our goals, and you could see even our arrogance on the ball, keeping the ball, and rotating the ball. Even our structure you could see how dominant we were, and we had done our homework on them and we felt like it was a good game and it’s been a test of tactical discipline as well as our technical ability and also showing that we can play on the world stage.
What did you make of your opponents?
Estonia was not a walk in the park, they were big, but they were very good technically and they had mobility. Even with Kosovo, yes, they were maybe less technical but more physical. So it is a milestone that we take and then with France, they were combining speed with their physicality and we had to come up against those and I think our players it took them time because it’s a shock, it’s countries that they don’t see, that we don’t play against often. It’s been good the way that they’ve represented the country, even with the style of play, and we can only grow from here. Hopefully, even myself as a youth coach I can take everything back even when I report back to the Technical Director and the Association of what I’m learning as an individual, as a part of the technical team, and reinvested back into South African football we can bear fruit and we can all grow together.
Five games, three wins, a loss and a draw…
It’s quite a good return but really sad to have the loss and the draw on games we shouldn’t have dropped points, which puts us in the position that we are in. So, we’re going to the last 32 in category B, so that’s literally from number team 33 till 64. We are still going to play at last 32, last 16, quarterfinal, semi-final and final for our positional playoffs. We don’t know who the opponents are yet, they’re still finishing with the games currently. The players in this game (vs France) really showed character, so hopefully in our rest day today when we restart the last 32 in category B, we’ll hopefully pick up our socks and we’ll continue with showing character, scoring goals and even good performances.
On a personal note, how valuable is this experience for a youth coach?
This experience for me as a youth coach is very valuable. It’s really tested the finer details from warm up, from coming to the pitch, from even homework before you even get onto the bus with the players showing them the game reviewing what is the game plan asking them if they’re fine. The way the game is moving so quick and for the players to also be there it’s been really humbling. I’ve learned quite a few things in terms of organization detail, and as a youth coach I really believe a lot of other coaches should also get the opportunity to come to international level and it’s an honor to always serve the country and you always learn playing against these countries because now you also understand that when we say we are growing in development other countries are not standing still.
South Africa U15 Group Stages Results:
South Africa 1 – 2 Kosovo
South Africa 13 – 1 Anguilla
Estonia 0 – 0 South Africa
France 2 – 3 South Africa
Group A Standings:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
| 1 | Estonia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 11 | Advance to Tier A | |
| 2 | South Africa | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 5 | +20 | 10 | Advance to Tier B | |
| 3 | France | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 6 | +14 | 10 | Advance to Tier C | |
| 4 | Kosovo | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 9 | Advance to Tier D | |
| 5 | Maldives | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 23 | −19 | 1 | Advance to Tier E | |
| 6 | Anguilla | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 34 | −28 | 1 | Advance to Tier F |
South African Football: They made their first appearance in the FIFA World Cup in 1998.