MBABANE – They are cruising!
The Eswatini Under-15 boys’ national team has advanced in the cross-elimination bracket within Tier E at the inaugural FIFA Under-15 World Cup and Festival 2026 taking place in Azerbaijan, following a convincing 3-0 victory over the Maldives early on Wednesday.
The Mandla Sigudla-led side made their intentions clear as early as the third minute when Samkelo Tsabedze broke the deadlock. Four minutes later, Mnotfo Simelane doubled the lead for Eswatini before Junior Shabangu sealed the dominant performance with a third goal five minutes from time.
Eswatini finished fifth in Group M, securing three points after defeating bottom-placed Samoa 3-0 to earn their first victory of the tournament.
A staggering 189 nations are competing in the landmark global event, with 78 countries making their debut appearance at a FIFA tournament. Spearheaded by FIFA as part of its global development strategy to give youth talent worldwide an international stage, the festival features an innovative eight-a-side format played on smaller pitches with 20-minute halves to maximise touch frequency and decision-making.
Under tournament regulations, no teams are eliminated following the single round-robin group phase. Instead, nations transition into classification tiers based on their exact group finish. Eswatini will not be returning home just yet as they enter Tier E, where they will battle for an overall global ranking between 129th and 160th position.
The global initiative aims to narrow the gap between developing and established footballing nations by offering young players early international exposure, diverse playing styles and tactical learning across all six confederations.
By virtue of their victory, Eswatini advance along the winners’ path of the Tier E bracket, where victorious teams face fellow winners while losing sides meet in lower-tier placement ties. The continuous competition model guarantees each country four to five matches in the second stage.
