The Moroccan under-15 national team defeated Venezuela 4-3 in a classification match at the Hovsan Competition Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan, marking a high-scoring victory after exiting the main tournament bracket earlier in the week.
The fixture saw Yassine Ajana strike twice in the opening quarter of an hour, finding the net at the 5th and 15th minutes. Mohamed Amine Zerkaoui added a third goal at the 25th minute, and Safouane Bellamine extended the lead to four goals just five minutes later at the 30th minute of play. Venezuela mounted a resilient response, but the seven-goal thriller ultimately favored the young North Africans in a particularly disputed encounter.
Group Stage Success Followed by Knockout Setbacks
Coached by Karim Miftal, the Lionceaux of the Atlas arrived in Azerbaijan having swept their group matches. Winning five consecutive preliminary fixtures, the squad demonstrated an initial adaptability against varied international opposition in the newly minted global youth showcase.
That momentum halted when the knockout rounds began. Paraguay eliminated Morocco in the round of 16 with a narrow 1-0 result on Wednesday, ending the team’s pursuit of the principal Tier A title. A subsequent 3-0 defeat against Mexico in the opening classification fixture left the squad looking to regain its footing before facing Venezuela.
FIFA Tournament Uses Eight-A-Side Format and Tiered Structure
The inaugural tournament, approved by the FIFA Council in December 2025 for players born in 2011 or 2012, brings together 189 national associations in a non-traditional eight-a-side format. Matches utilize smaller pitches measuring 68 meters long and 47 meters wide, featuring two 20-minute halves and unlimited substitutions.
Rather than sending defeated teams home early, the tournament structure redistributes squads into six competitive tiers ranging from Level A to Level F. This design ensures that every delegation plays four or five initial group matches followed by four or five placement fixtures, guaranteeing continuous international exposure through October 30.
Gathering more than 3,000 players, coaches, and officials in the Azerbaijani capital since its launch on October 22, the event is directed by FIFA’s Director of Global Football Development, Arsene Wenger. Wenger noted that the competition reduces the gap between emerging and established nations, while FIFA Gianni Infantino emphasized that the initiative aims to make football accessible everywhere and provide a source of smiles and opportunities.
Instead of traditional individual honors like the Golden Ball or Golden Shoe, Bakou features Special Awards decided entirely through direct player voting at the Athletes’ Village. These trophies celebrate collective identity, positive energy, and internal cohesion. Alongside Morocco's campaign, nations such as Senegal and Tunisia have advanced deep into their respective division brackets, while teams from Luxembourg, such as their under-15s managed by Paul Hansen, played through Group Q of Division C against Lithuania, the United Arab Emirates, Bhutan, and Saint-Vincent-et-the-Grenadines before reaching the knockout stages.
Broader Horizons for Moroccan Youth Development
FIFA platforms have highlighted the team’s participation as part of a wider national football surge, connecting the under-15s’ development to the senior squad’s historic run to the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the under-20 team’s triumph at the 2025 tournament in Chile.
For Miftal and his players, the Bakou competition offers crucial tactical exposure outside traditional continental fixtures. The accelerated eight-a-side pace increases ball contacts and match situations, equipping young prospects with experience intended to feed into the kingdom’s long-term football ambitions, including hosting the women’s under-17 World Cup across five consecutive editions from 2025 to 2029 and co-organizing the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.