Pakistan is going to a FIFA World Cup for the first time. The Pakistan Football Federation on Friday named its 14-member squad for the FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan, with head coach Ihsanullah Khan finalising the travelling party that will fly out of Islamabad on October 20. No Pakistani squad, at any age level, has ever taken part in a FIFA World Cup event before, which makes this month’s tournament a genuine milestone for the country’s football. The Young Shaheens, all born in 2011 or 2012, open their qualification campaign against Gambia on October 24, then play four more matches in 72 hours across October 25 and 26 in Group AD.
How they got here: the road through the National U-17 Championship
The 14 earned their tickets on domestic pitches. The PFF says the players secured their places through their performances at the PFF National U-17 Championship, the federation’s flagship youth tournament, held earlier this month. The championship itself had a disrupted road to the final: originally scheduled for Islamabad from September 23 to October 4, it was postponed over uncertainty in the twin cities and eventually held with 10 teams. Punjab Harappa lifted the trophy at Jinnah Stadium on October 10, beating KPK Himalayas 1-1 on penalties in the final, while Sindh Indus took third place with a 6-1 win over Balochistan Hingol. A 21-player provisional squad then trained at a camp in Lahore from October 6 before the final 14 were trimmed and announced.
The 14 names on the plane
The final squad, as announced by the PFF: Shayan Abdul Jabbar Marwat, Mohammad Salman, Mohammad Alam, Maqbool Ahmed, Shahraz Khan, Rameez Riza, Ameer Hamza, Mohammad Mustafa, Ilhan Khan Ali, Bakshi Hamal Khan, Owais Faiz, Zain ul Abideen, Danish Masih and Kaleem Ullah.
Five matches in 72 hours: Pakistan’s Group AD fixtures
Pakistan have been drawn in Group AD alongside Gambia, South Sudan, Cyprus, Jordan and Nigeria. The qualification stage is a round robin played from October 24 to 26, and the Young Shaheens face a packed schedule, all times in PKT as reported by GeoSuper: Gambia on October 24 at 3:30pm; South Sudan at 1:45pm and Cyprus at 8:30pm on October 25; Jordan at 12:30pm and Nigeria at 7:15pm on October 26. Every match follows an 8-a-side format with two 20-minute halves, a setup designed to maximise playing time and development for young players.
The format: six tiers instead of a straight knockout
The tournament does not work like a normal World Cup. The 191 participating nations are split into 32 groups for the qualification round. After a rest day on October 27, the tournament stage runs from October 28 to 30 across six performance tiers: group winners go into Tier A, while the rest are sorted into five other tiers based on their group-stage results. Each tier crowns its own winner, with the Tier A winner becoming the inaugural champion. Nearly 1,000 matches are scheduled across six matchdays at Baku’s Hovsan Competition Complex, while the opening match and all six tier finals on October 30 take place at the Crystal Hall. The girls’ edition follows next year, with both tournaments then planned to run annually from 2028.
What comes next for the Young Shaheens
For now, the focus is on the flight to Baku on October 20 and the opening game against Gambia four days later. PFF officials say the experience of facing teams from five different footballing cultures in three days will be invaluable for players the federation sees as the future of Pakistan football. The country has watched its football programme rebuild from the ground up in recent years, and a first-ever FIFA appearance gives that project its most visible stage yet. The squad’s progress in Baku will lead national news coverage through the tournament week, and PakMirror’s international news from Pakistan will carry updates as the campaign unfolds. Read more Pakistan sports stories as the fixtures begin.
