The very first edition of the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival, open to all FIFA member nations, has seen Maldives equalize 3-3 against Anguilla, making the three goals and singular point the very first Maldives has gotten in a FIFA World Cup.
Maldives drew against the small Caribbean nation Anguilla with a comeback.
The FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan. The match played yesterday saw Anguilla's Jacob Fleming and Spawndel Pogson's goals early in the second half put them in a three-goal lead.
Maldives' U15 national football team is being led by experienced youth football coach Ahmed Shakir (Shakitte). The first goal against Anguilla was scored by Ibrahim Iyas bin Hassan. The second goal was scored by Yoosuf Laaiq Ibrahim. The equalizing goal was scored by Mika Mohamed Kaleem.
The festival sees an 8-player format for every team, with Maldives being put up against a strong group. Maldives started the cup with an 8-0 loss against South Africa. They lost their next match to France 6-0. Maldives played difficult matches against Kosovo and Estonia as well.
Maldives played their match against Estonia yesterday and lost 3-1.
"This competition has resulted in our young players being able to compete against the world's most skilled youth players and getting learning opportunities from them. This was a chance for them to gain experience and make memories they will remember for the rest of their lives," wrote the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) on a social media post about the U15 teams experience at the World Cup.
The festival is being held from Saturday to Friday and is meant for FIFA member nations to gain international experience. A total of 189 nations are competing in the festival, which includes 78 nations that are competing for the first time in a FIFA World Cup competition.
With Group A's qualifying round coming to an end, Maldives will then compete in the Tier E of the competition. Maldives will get the chance to play against teams that are the same level as them and gain experience.
