South Africa's U15 Boys End on Mixed Note as Baku World Cup Reaches Finals Day

South Africa's U15 boys signed off the group phase of the inaugural FIFA U15 Boys World Cup and Festival with a day of sharp contrasts in Baku, Azerbaijan. On Thursday morning, head coach Selekedi Mogale's side swept Malaysia aside 5-1, a result that set up an afternoon meeting with Ivory Coast. That second fixture refused to follow the same script, ending in a narrow 4-3 defeat in a contest that stayed tight to the finish. The mixed return leaves South Africa playing Niger in their final match of the tournament, a placing game for 43rd or 44th that kicks off at 07:00 South African time on Friday. The festival itself reaches its conclusion on Friday after close to 1,000 matches played since October 24 in an 8v8 format with 20-minute halves. The headline act is the Tier A final between Spain and the Czech Republic at 4pm South African time, the match that will crown the first champions of this new youth event. Further finals across Tiers B to F will decide the remaining placings, with Argentina facing Portugal, Tunisia meeting Belarus, Canada taking on Tajikistan and more. For South Africa, the closing game against Niger is one last chance to end a long week in Baku on a winning note.