24 October 2026 – The South African U15 Boys National Team registered an impressive 8-0 victory over The Maldives in their opening match of the inaugural FIFA U15 Boys World Cup and Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday.
Tshiamo Mashishi grabbed a brace as Head Coach Selekedi Mogale’s irrepressible charges found the back of the net with seven different names on the goalscorers’ sheet.
“We completed our objectives, we didn’t want the game to tax us too much. We scored goals, different types of goals, which was good especially with us having different scorers. It means we can get goals from anywhere,” said an excited Mogale.
“I think the lessons learned ahead of the next two matches is the counter-press, our rest defence, as well as pressurizing the ball in order to press it and win it. We didn’t do well in the defensive transitions, so hopefully in the next game we can get our structure right, knowing when to pressurize the ball, when to win it and not to draw back too deep because it’s a small pitch.”
SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan, who is also in Azerbaijan and serving as a member of the FIFA Men’s National Teams Competitions, congratulated the team and said they have showed what they are capable of in their first appearance in the tournament.
The South Africans are next in action on Sunday when they take on Kosovo (10h45 SA Time) and Anguilla (17h30 SA Time).
Mogale is looking forward to the two games and has warned his players to be alert.
“We scored from long-range and people can do it against us, so we’ve got to make sure we prevent those situations and hopefully in the next game we keep a clean sheet and we grow from there, and we also grow better understanding from the Kosovo game and into the following game in the evening.”
South Africa will play their two final group stage games on Monday against Estonia and France.
The FIFA U15 Boys World Cup and Festival is the initiative of the world football governing body whose sole aim is to get the youth to compete at the global stage at an early age, right at the start of their football careers.
2026 FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival
South Africa vs Maldives Goal scorers:
- Keanu Moses
- Bohlale Finger
- Reatlegile Mosimane
- Tshiamo Mashishi x2
- Lesedi Hlalele
- Tumelo Moerane
- Inganathi Saliwa
GROUP STAGE FIXTURES:
Sunday, 25 October 2026:
vs Kosovo (10h45 SA Time)
vs Anguilla (17h30 SA Time)
Monday, 26 October 2026:
vs Estonia (09h30 SA Time)
vs France (16h15 SA Time)
South African Football: Itumeleng Khune is a well-known goalkeeper for Kaizer Chiefs.
Pearl Girl
Fun South African Fact: While the country only covers 1% of the Earth’s land surface, South Africa boasts 10% of the world’s bird, fish and plant species as well as 6% of its mammal and reptile species!