South Africa’s national Under-15 team returned to winning ways on Sunday with a powerful 13-1 victory over Anguilla at the inaugural FIFA U15 Boys World Cup and Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Mzansi boys, coached by Selekedi Mogale, needed a response after losing 2-1 to Kosovo earlier in the day. They delivered in style in their third group match. South Africa raced into a 5-1 lead by half-time and then opened the floodgates in the second half to complete the big win.

Tshiamo Mashishi and Camden Schaper both scored hat-tricks. Katlego Mokhabuki and Lesedi Hlalele each grabbed a brace. Neo Dhlamini, Bohlale Finger and Keanu Moses all added single goals. The result showed the attacking depth in the squad, with goals coming from several different players.

This was South Africa’s second big win of the tournament. On Saturday they had already thrashed the Maldives 8-0. In that match, seven different players scored, with Mashishi netting two. The Kosovo defeat earlier on Sunday was the only setback so far, but the team quickly put it behind them.

The inaugural FIFA U15 Boys World Cup and Festival is being played on smaller pitches in an 8-a-side format. The idea is to give young players more touches of the ball and help them develop technical skills and football intelligence from an early age. South Africa are in Group A with Maldives, Kosovo, Anguilla, Estonia and France.

The big win keeps South Africa in a strong position as they head into their final two group games on Monday. They face Estonia at 09h30 SA Time before meeting France at 16h15 SA Time. Those matches will decide how far the team goes in the competition.

Coach Mogale and his charges have shown they can score freely when they play with confidence. The 13-1 result against Anguilla is the clearest sign yet that this young South African side has real attacking quality and the character to bounce back from a setback.

For the boys in yellow and green, the focus now turns to finishing the group stage strongly and continuing to represent the country well on the world stage. Fans back home will be watching closely as the young stars look to build on this impressive display.

Source: https://x.com/iDiskiTimes/status/2114399001797660844