The inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival has concluded in Baku, with 189 national teams taking part, including all five Central Asian countries. Uzbekistan finished highest among the region’s teams in the tournament’s classification structure, while Tajikistan won Tier D.
The competition used a format very different from a traditional World Cup. Matches were played 8v8 over two 20-minute halves. After the opening stage, teams were divided into six tiers — from Tier A to Tier F — based on their results. The winner of Tier A was crowned the overall tournament champion.
FIFA did not publish an official overall ranking from first to 189th place, considering such a table unrepresentative given the experimental format. The positions below therefore refer to each team’s place in the tournament’s classification structure.
Uzbekistan — 42nd, Tier B
Kyrgyzstan — 52nd, Tier B
Kazakhstan — 85th, Tier C
Tajikistan — 97th, Tier D winners
Turkmenistan — 121st, Tier D
Uzbekistan: Central Asia’s highest finish
Uzbekistan finished second in their group and qualified for Tier B, the tournament’s second-highest division.
They opened with a 4-1 defeat to Ghana before beating the Bahamas 6-1, Kazakhstan 2-0, Guam 6-0 and Myanmar 4-0.
In the second stage, Uzbekistan lost 4-1 to Madagascar before recording wins over Guatemala 4-1, Costa Rica 2-1 and Niger 4-3. They then lost their final match 1-0 to Côte d’Ivoire.
Uzbekistan finished with seven wins and three defeats from ten matches, scoring 30 goals and conceding 15. Their 42nd-place position in the classification structure was the highest of any Central Asian team.
Kyrgyzstan: strong showing in Tier B
Kyrgyzstan also finished second in their group and advanced to Tier B.
They beat Uganda 4-3, Equatorial Guinea 6-1 and Tonga 8-0, drew 2-2 with Cape Verde and lost 3-0 to Ecuador in the opening stage.
In Tier B, Kyrgyzstan were beaten 4-0 by Côte d’Ivoire before defeating Bolivia 4-3 and Qatar 2-1. They then lost 6-1 to China and 5-4 to Guatemala.
Kyrgyzstan ended the tournament with five wins, one draw and four defeats from ten matches. They scored 31 goals and conceded 28, finishing 52nd in the classification structure.
Kazakhstan: difficult campaign ends in 85th
Kazakhstan were drawn in the same group as Uzbekistan. They beat the Bahamas 6-1 and Guam 5-1, drew 1-1 with Myanmar and lost 2-0 to Uzbekistan and 2-1 to Ghana. A third-place group finish sent them into Tier C.
Kazakhstan began that stage with their heaviest defeat of the tournament, losing 7-0 to Panama. They then beat Moldova 4-2, lost 5-4 to Hungary and drew 5-5 with India before winning the penalty shootout. Their final match ended in a 4-1 victory over Mozambique.
Kazakhstan finished 85th in the classification structure. Across their ten published matches, they recorded four wins in regulation time, two draws and four defeats, scoring 30 goals and conceding 27. One of the draws was followed by a penalty-shootout victory.
Tajikistan: Tier D champions
Tajikistan made a difficult start, losing 3-2 to Congo and 6-1 to eventual champions Spain. They then responded with a 7-0 win over Barbados, a 3-0 victory against Kuwait and a 1-1 draw with Chile.
A fourth-place group finish placed Tajikistan in Tier D, where they went on to win all five of their matches.
They beat Bermuda 7-1 and the Philippines 3-0 before defeating Lithuania 5-2 and the Dominican Republic 3-0. In the Tier D final, Tajikistan beat Canada 4-2 to win the division.
Tajikistan finished with seven wins, one draw and two defeats from ten matches. They scored 36 goals and conceded 15 — the highest scoring total among the five Central Asian teams. Winning Tier D corresponded to 97th place in the tournament’s classification structure.
Turkmenistan: lowest finish among Central Asian teams
Turkmenistan finished fourth in their group. They lost 5-1 to Italy, beat Hong Kong 2-1, lost 4-0 to Qatar, defeated the Cook Islands 3-1 and were beaten 4-1 by Benin.
In Tier D, Turkmenistan began with defeats to Canada 4-0 and Syria 3-0 before beating Togo 1-0 and Botswana 4-2. Their final match against Mauritania ended 1-1, with Turkmenistan winning the penalty shootout 5-4.
Across ten matches, Turkmenistan recorded four wins in regulation time, one draw and five defeats. They scored 13 goals and conceded 25, finishing 121st in the classification structure.
Overall, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan reached Tier B, Kazakhstan competed in Tier C, while Tajikistan and Turkmenistan played in Tier D. Uzbekistan finished highest among the Central Asian teams in the classification structure, but Tajikistan were the only side from the region to win a title, taking the Tier D crown.
Spain won the overall tournament after beating Czechia 3-0 in the Tier A final and finished the competition with ten wins from ten matches. The other tier winners were Zambia in Tier B, Belarus in Tier C, Tajikistan in Tier D, the Central African Republic in Tier E and New Zealand in Tier F.
A total of 932 matches were played, with 4,505 goals scored.