Saudi Arabia U15 begins World Cup festival journey with loss to Angola

The match took place at the sports complex in Baku, as part of the inaugural edition of the FIFA World Cup U-15 festival, hosted by Azerbaijan with teams from various continents participating.

National coach Abdullah Almutairi has relied on a group of players in the starting lineup, which includes Amir Alarifi, Bilal Barnawi, Muhannad Al-Mawlid, Abdullah bin Saeed, Ahmed Abu Sultan, Rayan Baqashi, Ibrahim Al-Dakhil, and Majd Al-Asiri.

Despite the efforts from the Saudi Arabia players throughout both halves, Angola managed to assert their attacking superiority and won the match by a four-goal margin, leaving the Green Falcons to start their campaign with a difficult result.

Saudi Arabia will have little time to prepare as they face two matches on Sunday in the same group. They will meet the Central African Republic at 9 AM Azerbaijan time and 8 AM Saudi Arabia time.

The Saudi Arabia U-17 team returns to the same pitch to face the Solomon Islands at 3:45 PM Azerbaijan time, which is 2:45 PM Saudi Arabia time, in their second test of the day.

Saudi Arabia competes in Group D, which includes Japan, China, Angola, Central African Republic, and Solomon Islands, facing multiple challenges ahead in the tournament.

Saudi Arabia's U15 team began their participation in the FIFA World Cup for youth 2026 with a heavy defeat against Angola, losing four goals to nil in a match held on Saturday morning in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku.