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Kenya will face Panama on Sunday morning before taking on North Macedonia later in the evening.

Kenya’s Under-15 boys team opened its campaign at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival in Azerbaijan with a 6-2 victory over Malta in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday, scoring six goals in a match played over two 20-minute halves.

The Emerging Stars made a fast start, with Innocent Media opening the scoring in the fifth minute before Lewis Wafula doubled the lead three minutes later. Malta defender Lee Bonanno then scored an own goal in the 15th minute, before Dancan Muyah made it 4-0 four minutes later.

Malta responded with two penalties to reduce the deficit before the break. Declan Zammit converted in the 25th minute before Enzo de Freitas scored from the spot four minutes later to cut Kenya’s lead to 4-2.

However, Kenya restored its four-goal advantage in the second half, with Silas Juma scoring in the 32nd minute before Muyah added his second of the match in the 36th minute to seal the 6-2 win.

The result gives Patrick Nyale’s side a strong start to the tournament, but the team faces a demanding schedule, with four matches remaining in the opening stage.

Kenya will face Panama on Sunday morning before taking on North Macedonia later in the evening. The Emerging Stars will then play Nigeria on Monday morning before completing their opening-stage fixtures against Chad later that evening.

The five matches will determine Kenya’s position in the next phase. FIFA has designed the competition so that no team is eliminated after the opening stage, meaning all participating sides will continue playing until the final matchday.

The inaugural tournament runs from October 24 to 30 in Baku and uses an eight-a-side format, with each team fielding eight players instead of the usual 11. The shorter matches, played over two 20-minute halves, are designed to give young players international competition experience in a fast-paced format.

“Talent exists everywhere, but young players do not always have the same opportunities to test themselves internationally. This tournament is about providing them with that opportunity,” FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger said last month.