The Malawi men’s Under-15s extended their winning start to the FIFA Under-15 World Cup & Festival 2026 with back-to-back 3-1 victories over Oman and Suriname in Baku on Sunday.

Joseph Malizani’s side came from behind in both Group B encounters, with Takutzwa Maluwe, Lameck Kamanga and Sipho Ngwira scoring against Oman before Maluwe struck again and Jazaka Amidu grabbed a brace against Suriname.

The victories took Malawi to nine points from three matches, following Saturday’s opening 3-2 triumph over Chinese Taipei. In their opening fixture of the day, Malawi fell behind to a seventh-minute strike from Ali Alqasmi.

Despite the early setback, the youngsters gradually settled into the contest but went into the break trailing by a goal. Malizani’s side returned for the second half with renewed attacking intent and found the equaliser in the 26th minute through Maluwe.

Malawi took the lead in the 32nd minute when Kamanga produced a spectacular left-footed strike from distance, sending the ball into the top corner. Malizani introduced Ngwira for Maluwe in the 35th minute, and the substitute made an immediate impact, scoring three minutes later to complete the comeback and seal a 3-1 victory.

Later in the day, Malawi faced South American side Suriname, with Malizani making several changes to his starting lineup. Among those changes was the inclusion of goalkeeper Prince Santos, the only remaining squad member yet to feature, who made his tournament debut.

Suriname, coached by Orfeo Brondenstein, started strongly and tested Santos twice in the opening exchanges. Amidu came close to opening the scoring in the fourth minute, firing narrowly wide, before Santos saved a free-kick two minutes later.

Malizani made an early substitution, introducing Maluwe for Ruben Namate in the sixth minute. The substitute thought he had given Malawi the lead in the 10th minute, but his effort was ruled out for offside. Captain Innocent Jauma was then denied by an excellent save from the Suriname goalkeeper in the 12th minute, with Amidu firing the rebound over the crossbar.

Suriname broke the deadlock in the 18th minute, capitalising on a defensive lapse to finish into the far corner and take a 1-0 lead into the break. The youngsters responded strongly after the restart, with Maluwe equalising in the 24th minute to register his second goal of the day.

Malizani subsequently introduced Ngwira for Rex Maiden as Malawi maintained their attacking pressure. Miracle Ndovie forced a save in the 29th minute, with the Suriname goalkeeper turning his effort behind for a corner before later being replaced through injury.

Amidu put Malawi ahead in the 33rd minute with an excellent finish from the centre of the penalty area before striking again just a minute later to complete his brace and extend the lead to 3-1.