Argentina faces a compressed challenge in the first Sub-15 World Cup

The key match comes early. Argentina opens its participation in the first FIFA Sub-15 World Cup on Saturday against Algeria. It is not a tournament with room to breathe: the Albinegro will play five matches in 72 hours, in a format that almost demands constant reinvention.

The competition begins on Saturday, October 24, in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. It will bring together 189 national associations, nearly 3,000 footballers and close to 950 matches over six days. Argentina will compete in Group B under the direction of Adrián Gallará, the Córdoba-based coach who has led the AFA youth divisions since 2017.

A tournament outside the usual script

The format is as novel as the setting. The 189 teams will be distributed into 32 groups, from A to AF, and each selection will face every opponent in its group once. There will be no early elimination. The group winners will advance to Level A, which will determine the first world champion in this category. The remaining teams will compete in Levels B through F, followed by knockout stages in which every match will also define a final position.

The rules are different, too. Each team will field eight players, including the goalkeeper, in two 20-minute halves separated by a five-minute break. The pitches will measure 68 by 47 meters, and squads can include up to 14 footballers born in 2011 or 2012. It is youth football turned into a compressed and highly demanding challenge.

For Argentina, the calendar is demanding: Algeria on Saturday at 2.00, Chinese Taipei on Sunday at 5.45, Oman at 12.30, Suriname on Monday at 4.30 and Malawi at 11.15. Five games, seventy-two hours and no obvious favorites, as usual.

“Argentina begins on Saturday, but the real test will arrive with the second and third matches: recovery, tactical adjustment and mental freshness will be as important as football.”Rodrigo Bertolini, Deportes

• Saturday, October 24: Algeria, 2.00.
• Sunday, October 25: Chinese Taipei, 5.45, and Oman, 12.30.
• Monday, October 26: Suriname, 4.30, and Malawi, 11.15.

Does the compressed format benefit teams with more experience or give emerging selections a chance? The answer will probably depend less on the name on the shirt than on the legs, the recovery and the ability to read a strange competition quickly. It will be like facing a historic match at an unfamiliar stadium: the noise matters, but the details decide.

For now, the Albinegro has a clear next step: Algeria. After that, the fixture arrives without mercy. The next weekend will be defined by these five matches packed into seventy-two hours.