Ghana captain Abdul Aziz Issa says the National U-15 Boys will continue working to improve after finishing seventh out of 189 countries at the FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival 2026 in Azerbaijan.
Ghana won eight of their 10 matches, ending their campaign with a 4-0 victory over Colombia. Their only other defeat came in the Tier A Ranking Play-Offs, where they were beaten 7-1 by Brazil.
“We are not going to rest at all, we shall continue to learn more from our coaches and continue to grow and develop,” Issa said.
“I believe that this group and a few more quality additions will do well in future competitions.”
Issa said the squad had travelled to Azerbaijan believing they could win the tournament, but remained satisfied with the standard of their performances.
“We came here with loads of confidence to win the competition and worked towards that goal, but it wasn’t enough. However, I think the team did extremely well.”
Ghana began the competition in impressive fashion, winning all five of their Group W fixtures to finish at the top of the standings with a maximum 15 points.
They scored 27 goals during the group stage and conceded only three, producing a record that reflected both their attacking strength and defensive organisation.
Their opening match ended in a 4-1 win against Uzbekistan, before they followed it with a 7-1 victory over Myanmar.
Further emphatic wins came against Guam and the Bahamas, with Ghana recording 7-0 victories in both matches. They completed the group stage with a closer contest against Kazakhstan, securing a 2-1 win.
Their hopes of securing a higher final position were then damaged in the knockout phase, when they were eliminated by Paraguay in a dramatic match.
Despite that setback, Ghana remained among the competition’s leading performers and completed the tournament with eight victories from 10 games.
The team’s final outing brought a positive conclusion to the campaign as they defeated Colombia 4-0, although the heavy loss to Brazil in the Tier A Ranking Play-Offs prevented them from finishing higher than seventh.
Issa said the experience would provide a foundation for the players’ continued development, with the captain looking ahead to future competitions rather than focusing solely on the result in Azerbaijan.
The comments were issued by GFA Communications.