Sporting Kansas City II midfielder Zamir Loyo Reynaga and Mexico's U-15s finished ninth at the first ever FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan, thanks in large part to 10 goals from the SKC Academy Homegrown.
Mexico was drawn into Group H with Dominica, Ethiopia, Hungary, Malaysia and Syria, topping the group with an undefeated campaign. They then defeated Russia in the Tournament phase before suffering a defeat at the hands of Ghana. The group rebounded with wins over Morocco, Italy and Uruguay to take ninth place out of 189 entrants.
Loyo Reynaga and Mexico opened the competition with a 3-1 victory over Hungary. A day later, Loyo Reynaga won 5-0 over Dominica with the SKC midfielder bagging his first two goals of the tournament. That same day he added two more scores in a 7-1 triumph over Syria.
The Las Vegas native continued his run of form with a hat trick against Ethiopia. Mexico concluded the group stage with a grinded out, 1-0 result against Malaysia. After knocking off Russia Loyo Reynaga scored both of El Tri's goals in a 5-2 defeat against Ghana. Mexico finished the competition ninth overall with Loyo Reynaga adding another goal in a 7-0 thumping of Italy in the penultimate match.
Loyo Reynaga joined Marvin Cabrera's squad after receiving two call ups for Mexican Youth National Teams in 2026. He joined the U-15s for the 2026 FMF Super Cup in July and competed in the Liga MX International Tournament in Mexico City in September.
The Las Vegas, Nevada native became the youngest player in club history to represent Sporting Kansas City II when he debuted against Ventura County FC on Sept. 28, 2025, at 14 years and 251 days old. He made two appearances for SKC II in 2025, coming on as a substitute in the team's Decision Day matchup with MNUFC 2 as well.
The 15-year-old signed a contract with Sporting KC II and the Sporting KC first team on February 5 ahead of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season. He started eight of 15 appearances for SKC II, scoring twice in 729 minutes played in his first professional season. He will join the first team for the 2027 MLS Sprint Season as the 24th Homegrown signing in club history.
