Argentina faces a compressed World Cup debut with little room to breathe

The wind in Baku will have little time to settle. Argentina arrives at the first FIFA Under-15 World Cup with five games packed into 72 hours: a short sprint where every minute, recovery and substitution can weigh as much as a goal.

The continental debut begins this Saturday, October 24, at 2:00 a.m. Argentine time, against Algeria. Then come Chinese Taipei on Sunday at 5:45, Oman at 12:30, Suriname on Monday at 4:30 and Malawi at 11:15. There is no room for a leisurely start.

A tournament outside the usual mold

The competition brings together 189 of the FIFA member associations and nearly 3,000 players. The teams are divided into 32 groups, from A to AF, and each plays every opponent in its group once. Nobody is eliminated at that stage, although the level reached determines the path that follows.

The group winners move to Level A, which will decide the world champion. The remaining teams compete in Levels B, C, D, E and F. After the group stage, the format switches to knockout matches, with placement matches also on the agenda. In other words, the absence of early elimination does not mean an easy route.

• Each squad must include eight players, including the goalkeeper.
• Matches consist of two 20-minute periods, with a five-minute break.
• The fields measure 68 by 47 meters.
• Squads may have up to 14 players, born in 2011 or 2012.
• There will be almost 950 matches over six days, with no team playing more than twice in a day.

For Argentina, the challenge is both sporting and logistical. Adrian Gallara, the Cordoba coach who has led the AFA's youth divisions since 2017, will have a very tight turnaround. The squad traveled to Baku with 14 players, but the schedule asks for constant management of effort and minutes.

The reduced field and short periods clearly reward a different kind of football. The technical demands will be unusual: less time to build attacks, more changes of rhythm and a greater importance for immediate decisions. We should see whether the compact format favors teams with more experience or gives emerging selections a chance to level the playing field.

Seamos sinceros: five games in 72 hours can be a genuine test of concentration. A team may win its group and still arrive at the decisive stages with accumulated fatigue. Recovery, travel and even sleep will become part of the coach's playbook, not trivial details outside it.

Argentina's first objective is clear: win the Group B and reach Level A. To do that, Gallara will need to balance ambition with preservation. The squad has no shortage of names, but the calendar demands decisions that go beyond the lineup on the field.

The next opponent is Algeria, on Saturday at 2:00 a.m., Argentine time. That kickoff will also be the first reference point for a tournament that promises to test whether youth football can withstand a rhythm this compressed. The wind in Baku will be fresh; the challenge for Argentina is to keep its head.