Ghana’s National U-15 Boys team finished seventh at the FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival in Azerbaijan after closing their campaign with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Colombia.
The win provided a strong response to their 7-1 defeat to Brazil in the Tier A Ranking Play-Offs, which followed a heartbreaking 7-6 penalty shootout loss to Paraguay after a 2-2 draw in the quarter-finals.
Ghana bounced back against Colombia to secure seventh place and bring their campaign to a positive conclusion.
The team recorded eight victories in ten matches, scoring 44 goals throughout the tournament to finish among the top eight sides in the FIFA Talent Development Scheme competition.
Their campaign began with a perfect group-stage record, winning all five matches before progressing through the knockout rounds. Ghana defeated Korea Republic 2-1 in the Round of 32 before producing an impressive 5-2 victory over Mexico in the Round of 16 to reach the quarter-finals.
Shamsudeen Sulemana was among the standout performers, scoring four goals in the victory over Mexico, while Abdul Aziz Issah also made a significant contribution with important goals against Korea Republic, Mexico and Colombia.
Although the defeat to Brazil ended their hopes of finishing fifth, Ghana’s response against Colombia ensured they left Azerbaijan with a seventh-place finish.
The campaign offered valuable international experience for the young players, who demonstrated their attacking quality and ability to compete against teams from different footballing backgrounds.
