A quick-fire hat-trick from Conor Hudson helped the Ireland Men's Under-15s come back to beat Zimbabwe 5-3 in their second game of the 2026 FIFA MU15 World Cup.

This was an excellent performance from an Ireland side that had beaten Montenegro in their first game of a tournament that is set up in an 8v8 format with two 20-minute halves.

Goalkeeper Jake Morgan pulled off a big save on four minutes but Ireland looked the more likely to score and that is what happened when Waterford's Billy Carney fired in less than a minute of coming on as a substitute.

Zimbabwe hit back on 16 minutes to level the scores going in at the interval. Just seconds after the restart though, Shamrock Rovers defender Tom Casey blasted in his second goal of the tournament to put Ireland in front again.

Two quick goals from Zimbabwe swung the momentum in their favour as they lead 3-2 but St. Patrick's Athletic ace Hudson turned it around with three goals in as many minutes - two headers and a superb right-footed finish.

The result puts Ireland in a good position to top Group C with another game on Sunday afternoon against Nicaragua followed by two back-to-back games against England and Cambodia on Monday.

Ireland: Jake Morgan; Tom Casey, Robert Morgan, Joe Manicle, Fionnán Ó’Snodaigh (Billy Carney 9), Harry Rehill (Fionn McCormack Crowe 20), Nathan Power (Conor Hudson 20), Darragh Nolan.

Goalscorers: Billy Carney 10, Tom Casey 21, Conor Hudson 36, 37, 38.

International Coach: Graham Gartland.