Africa’s hopes of winning the main title at the FIFA U15 World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, ended on Thursday after Ghana and Guinea were knocked out in the League A quarter-finals.

Ghana were beaten by Paraguay in a dramatic penalty shootout after the match finished 2-2, losing 7-6 on penalties. Guinea’s campaign also came to an end with a 2-1 defeat by Greece.

Morocco had already seen their hopes of lifting the main trophy disappear on Wednesday, when they lost 1-0 to Paraguay in the last 16. The Lionceaux de l’Atlas suffered another defeat in the classification matches on Thursday, going down 3-0 to Mexico.

Algeria, however, restored some pride with a 2-1 victory over Estonia in their own classification fixture. Karim Ziani’s side had previously been eliminated by Guinea on penalties in the last 16 before suffering a 4-1 defeat by Albania.

Cameroon endured a more difficult day, losing 9-2 to Russia in another classification match.

Senegal and Tunisia progress

The African teams enjoyed greater success in League B, where Senegal reached the semi-finals with a convincing 5-0 win against Madagascar.

The Lionceaux will face Zambia for a place in the final early in the afternoon. With both teams from Africa, the continent is guaranteed a representative in the League B final.

Tunisia produced one of the day’s most notable results in League C, eliminating France with a 5-3 victory to book their place in the semi-finals.

There was disappointment for the Democratic Republic of the Congo in League D, however. They were beaten 4-0 by Somalia, who will now represent Africa in the semi-final stage of that division.

In League E, the Central African Republic and Chad remain in contention and will meet each other, while Gabon are also still pursuing the title. Ethiopia continue to compete for honours in League F.

The classification matches in League B produced mixed results for other African sides. Cote d’Ivoire defeated South Sudan 2-1, while Mali lost 2-0 to Niger.

Although the main title is no longer within Africa’s reach, Senegal and Tunisia remain in contention to finish the tournament as champions in their respective divisions. The competition’s final matches are scheduled to take place by Friday 30 October, when the winners of all six leagues will be decided.