Kenya's U15 boys beat Chad 3-2 to top FIFA group unbeaten; Poland next in Tier A

Kenya's under-15 boys beat Chad 3-2 at the Hovsan Competition Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 26 October to finish top of Group Z unbeaten at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival. The result puts Kenya in Tier A, the top level of the tournament's second stage, whose winner will be crowned champion.

Captain Innocent Media scored nine seconds into the match, the Kenyan sports site Mozzart Sport reported. Dancan Muyah doubled the lead in the 16th minute and Chad pulled one back two minutes later. Silas Juma restored the two-goal cushion in the 28th minute. Chad scored again in the 30th minute, with 10 minutes remaining, but Kenya held on.

The Chad match, which kicked off at 17:00 local time, was Kenya's fifth in three days. They opened with a 6-2 win over Malta on 24 October, beat Panama 5-1 on the morning of 25 October and drew 2-2 with North Macedonia that evening. On the morning of 26 October they drew 2-2 with Niger. Over the five matches Kenya won three and drew two, scoring 18 goals and conceding nine for 11 points.

Muyah scored twice against Malta. Against Panama, Lewis Wafula opened the scoring in the 10th minute, Juma added a second and Media scored before the break for a 3-1 half-time lead. Media scored again in the 24th minute and Wafula added the fifth in the 27th.

Kenya trailed twice against Niger. Niger scored in the second minute and Media equalised in the 12th; Niger went ahead again in the 26th minute before Javan Ochieng levelled a minute later with a long-range shot.

Head coach Patrick Nyale took 14 players to Baku. In the squad list Citizen Digital published on 21 October, Media and Ochieng play for St Joseph's Kitale, Juma for Butere Boys, Wafula for Mumias Central JSS and Muyah for Bwake Boys. The goalkeepers are Elvis Odhiambo of Kisumu Day and Raudge Johnstone of St Mary's Yala.

“We have prepared the squad well in all departments, and we have different plans for how we will attack and defend,” Nyale said before the tournament.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Hussein Mohammed travelled with the team to Baku.

The tournament is played eight-a-side over two 20-minute halves by players born in 2011 or 2012. Each team may bring 14 players and up to six officials. FIFA said in September that nearly 1,000 games would be played: teams first play four to five round-robin matches, then move into one of six performance tiers, and every team plays through to the final matchday.

The 32 group winners make up Tier A, while group runners-up go to Tier B. The tier finals are on 30 October at the Crystal Hall in Baku. FIFA plans a girls' edition in 2027, with annual boys' and girls' tournaments from 2028.

Kenya meet Poland in the Tier A round of 32 on 28 October at 14:30 local time (13:30 in Nairobi) at the Hovsan Competition Complex.