Cymru made their mark at the first FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival that took place in Azerbaijan last month as the side finished in 22nd place out of 189 competing nations from all six confederations.
The capital city of Baku hosted the huge international event with Cymru playing ten games of 8v8 between the 24 and 30 October. In addition to defeating Portugal 2-1, the side also held eventual winners Spain to a 1-1 draw before losing the match on penalties.
“It was a tremendous experience for the players,” explained head coach Drew Sherman to FAW.cymru. “Not only from a football perspective, but from a social aspect too, with so many different countries and cultures coming together in one venue and interacting together in the dining and recreation rooms for example.
“From a football perspective, there was a huge benefit from the volume of games, and the level of competition was really high. It was a real collective effort from the players, and they were tremendous in their effort and application, especially with the unusual format of playing 8v8. It was very much about the side evolving as we went through the competition and getting better as we adapted to it.”
Drawn in Group G for the initial round of fixtures, Cymru opened the tournament with a 0-0 draw with Bangladesh before claiming victories over Indonesia, Burundi, Fiji and against a strong Portuguese side. Following the penalty shoot-out defeat to Spain, the side claimed a 4-0 win over Bulgaria.
A second penalty shoot-out defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina was followed by a 5-3 win over Australia, before the tournament came to a close with a 3-2 defeat against the Republic of Ireland to decide their 22nd place in the final standings.
“There were a number of stand-out performances for different reasons,” Sherman added. “The Portugal performance was a real positive. We really took the game to them, which is one of the principles we try to apply across all the age groups. We trust our way of playing, and we caught the Portuguese out with that and won pretty comfortably.
“It was a similar story against Spain, and it was heartbreaking to concede in the final seconds of the match with a deflected shot from the edge of the box. We were also really pleased with the performances against Bulgaria and Australia. The football we played and the goals we scored in those two games in particular was really strong.”
In fact, Cymru ended the tournament with one of the best defensive records of all the competing teams, and as a nation had one of the lowest populations of the teams that finished in the top 25 places. “Our population is around 3.2 million,” Sherman explained. “We played Bangladesh in our first game, and their population is about 180 million.
“So, there was always going to be an element of competitiveness, but the format of 8v8 and shorter games as opposed to 11v11 was a bit of a leveller as well. There was also a realisation that across the world there generally is talent in every nation. That was pretty apparent from the games we played.”
This was the first edition of the tournament having been approved by the FIFA Council in December 2025 and open to all 211 FIFA member nations. Next year will be the first female version of the tournament, with both male and female editions scheduled to take place annually from 2028.
“It enables us to assess where we’re at from a player development perspective on a global standard,” Sherman added. “There was genuine representation from our player development ecosystem too. We had dual-national players, but eight of the 14 players in the squad were made in Wales and play across our three Championship clubs.
“Out of those eight players, two of them have only left the domestic ecosystem within the last 18 months or so. That’s testament to having a connected ecosystem within Wales over the last five years and now we’re starting to reap the rewards. These are players we could have missed but are now coming through on the national stage.”
James Eley is one of those players, having come through the ranks at Pontypridd United before signing for Cardiff City, and he captained Cymru at the tournament in the match against Spain. Meanwhile, Leo Saxon from Anglesey represented Caernarfon and Connah’s Quay before joining Wrexham.
“It’s testament to the work that’s happening across all levels of the game in Wales that these boys now have the opportunity to go and perform on the global stage,” said Sherman. “And there’s a lot of people involved in making sure that’s the case.
“I think that was one of the most eye-opening things for us. We’re on the right lines in terms of what we’re doing to develop players and provide opportunities within Wales, and then of course giving those kids the best possible experiences.
“But I have to show appreciation for the players themselves and the parents and people who have been involved in their respective journeys. They were outstanding, all of them, and they can be really proud of the work that they’ve done over the last fortnight.”
The logistics of traveling to Baku for a tournament that hosted 189 teams from around the world delivered its own challenges, but Cymru were not short of support. “The families and friends that travelled out there didn’t stop singing,” Sherman added. “It was wonderful to see and certainly helped the players to continue to perform.”
