The knockout stages of the FIFA U15 World Cup and Festival in Azerbaijan produced mixed results for Africa on Wednesday, with Morocco, Algeria and Cote d’Ivoire seeing their hopes of winning their respective divisions damaged, while Senegal, Guinea, Tunisia, Benin and the Democratic Republic of the Congo moved forward.

The tournament is being played at the Hovsan sports complex near Baku, where teams have been placed into divisions according to their performances in the opening phase. Although the competition now features knockout matches, a defeat does not end a team’s participation, with sides continuing in classification fixtures.

Morocco were beaten 1-0 by Paraguay in the last 16 of Division A. The Lionceaux de l’Atlas had made a promising start to the tournament but can no longer challenge for the title in their division. They will instead play further ranking matches.

Guinea kept their own hopes alive by beating Egypt 4-2 in an all-African contest and progressing to the quarter-finals. Ghana are the other African side still seeking the Division A title.

Algeria suffered another setback after being eliminated by Guinea on penalties in the last 16 earlier on Wednesday. Karim Ziani’s side then lost heavily to Albania, going down 4-1 in a classification match. Cameroon, by contrast, defeated Cyprus 2-1 in a Division A honour match.

In Division B, Senegal produced one of the day’s most emphatic victories, thrashing Costa Rica 6-1. Abdoulaye Diallo scored a hat-trick, Pierre Fleury Mbengue added two goals and Georges Kanfom completed the scoring.

Senegal will face Madagascar in the quarter-finals after Madagascar beat Uzbekistan 4-1.

Cote d’Ivoire’s progress was halted by a 2-1 defeat against Argentina. The Elephanteaux had previously impressed in attack, scoring 5-0 against Rwanda and 6-0 against the Turks and Caicos Islands. They will now continue in the classification matches.

Mali also lost, suffering a 4-2 defeat by Slovakia, while Congo-Brazzaville were narrowly beaten 3-2 by China in a ranking fixture.

Tunisia advanced in Division C with a commanding 5-0 win over Thailand. They will play France in the quarter-finals on Thursday. Benin also secured a notable result, defeating fellow West African side Nigeria 6-3 in a high-scoring match.

In Division D, the Democratic Republic of the Congo overcame Oman 2-0 to book a quarter-final place. Lesotho eliminated Tahiti on penalties after a 3-3 draw, winning the shootout 5-4.

Togo suffered the opposite outcome, being knocked out by Jordan after their match ended 1-1. Jordan prevailed 4-2 on penalties.

Several leading African teams have lost their chance to win their divisions, but the continent still has a strong presence in the quarter-finals. Those eliminated from title contention will remain involved in international fixtures through the end of the tournament.