Malta placed 165th in the FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival which was held in Azerbaijan after defeating Samoa 3-0 at the Hovsan Competition Complex on Friday.
Throughout the tournament, Malta obtained four wins in ten matches.
Malta lost 2-6 to Kenya and 0-1 to Niger and following a 1-1 draw with Chad, lost 1-3 to North Macedonia and 0-2 to Panama. In the Tier F tournament, Malta defeated Suriname 3-0 and São Tomé and Príncipe 6-0 and following a 1-2 defeat to New Zealand, Davide Mazzotta’s side defeated Fiji 4-0 and Samoa 3-0.
Speaking earlier this week, Malta FA Vice President Trustin Farrugia Cann said “It’s a dream for the children. The players are really enjoying their time here in Baku, because the organisation has been excellent.”
“What was held here is really impressive. The dream of bringing all the world together is achievable, and it was a real success for FIFA and for all the member associations,” added the Malta FA Vice-President.
Referring to the planned $25 million funding FIFA is planning to give each member association, Farrugia Cann “It’s massive for us, because we will invest money into our children once again. We are an island, so we have a lot of expenses when travelling by plane. This will give us more opportunities to travel abroad, and it will help us a lot in the development of our children.”
The squad was made up of Zack Pule (St Andrews FC), Sheldon Xerri (Pieta’ Hotspurs FC); James Azzopardi (Valletta FC), Lee Bonanno (Valletta FC), Zven Cutajar (Pieta’ Hotspurs FC), Nathan Fasanelli (Hamrun Spartans FC), Isaac Montebello (St Andrews FC), Zyan Refalo (Hibernians FC), Andvic Inguanez (Valletta FC), Nikolai Vella Giordmaina (Sliema Wanderers FC), Beppe Melarosa (Sliema Wanderers FC), Logan Farrugia (Pieta’ Hotspurs FC), Enzo De Freitas Romao (Pieta’ Hotspurs FC), Declan Roosevelt Zammit (Hibernians FC).
The win over Suriname was officially the first ever win for Malta in a FIFA World Cup.
