Ghana captain Abdul Aziz Issa says the national Under-15 team must continue developing 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 during the tournament, including a 4-0 victory over Colombia in their final game. Their campaign also included a 7-1 defeat by Brazil in the Tier A Ranking Play-Offs.
Issa said the squad would use the experience to improve rather than become satisfied with their achievement.
“We are not going to rest at all, we shall continue to learn more from our coaches and continue to grow and develop,” he said.
The captain also believes the addition of several more talented players could make the team even stronger in future competitions.
“I believe that this group and a few more quality additions will do well in future competitions,” Issa added.
Ghana had arrived in Azerbaijan with the ambition of winning the tournament, and Issa acknowledged that they fell short of that objective despite delivering an impressive overall performance.
“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,” he said.
The side made an exceptional start by winning all five of their matches in Group W. They finished top with a maximum 15 points, scoring 27 goals and conceding only three.
Ghana began with a 4-1 win against Uzbekistan before producing a 7-1 victory over Myanmar. Further emphatic wins followed, with Ghana defeating Guam 7-0 and recording the same score against the Bahamas.
They completed the group stage with a narrower 2-1 victory over Kazakhstan, maintaining their perfect record and underlining both their attacking strength and defensive organisation.
However, their hopes of securing a higher position in the overall standings were ended in the knockout phase when they were eliminated by Paraguay in a dramatic match.
Despite that setback, Ghana finished the competition with eight victories from 10 games and seventh place among the 189 participating countries. Issa said the exposure gained in Azerbaijan would be important to the players’ continued growth.
