Northern Ireland turned on the style in the qualifying group stage at the inaugural FIFA World Cup for Under-15 boys’ teams.
They won all four of their games in Group AA to qualify for the Tier A competition within the tournament.
It means they have reached the top 32 out of 189 nations at the inaugural eight-a-side tournament, which is part of the world governing body’s commitment to promoting youth football globally.
They will now play further games in the knockout phase of the top tier to determine their overall position.
Northern Ireland’s first game in the tournament – it is being staged in Azerbaijan - was against New Caledonia (representing OFC - Oceania Football Confederation) on Saturday. They won the game 7-2.
Captain Michael Mulholland opened the scoring after two minutes. Midfielder Corey Harkin raced down the left flank before slipping the ball to Mulholland and the striker swept the ball home.
Defender JB Camlin added a second six minutes later. He latched on to a clipped pass from midfielder Calum Evans and hammered the ball home.
Camlin scored his second before New Caledonia scored two quickfire goals, however Camlin then turned provider. During a corner routine he found defender Eoin McCann at the back post and he tapped in from close range to make it 4-2 just before the break.
Further goals from midfielder Will Davison (two) and striker Dara Donnan eased Michael McClean’s team to a comfortable win.
Yesterday they swept aside Antigua and Barbuda (representing Concacaf - Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football), winning 10-0.
Dara Donnan opened the scoring after three minutes and he grabbed his second in the 12th minute.
A minute later Calum Evans made it three-nil and goals from midfielder Alfie Davidson and defender Shea Donnelly quickly followed. Davidson scored again just before the break.
In the second half striker Michael Mulholland grabbed a hat-trick, scoring after 21 minutes, 29 minutes and in the 32nd minute.
The scoring was completed on 33 minutes when JB Camlin found the back of the net.
Their third game in the group was against Burkina Faso (representing CAF – Confederation of African Football) yesterday.
McClean’s side got off to an excellent start when forward Conleth O’Neill slotted the ball home in the first minute.
In the 12th minute it was 2-0 thanks to a tidy finish from midfielder Rylan Heaney.
Northern Ireland (representing UEFA) extended their lead just two minutes later when defender JB Camlin scored for the third game in a row.
The half-time lead of 3-0 proved unassailable – and the boys in green and white made sure of the win with O’Neill’s second goal of the game on 29 minutes to leave the final score at 4-0.
Their final group game came earlier today when they defeated Lebanon (AFC – Asian Football Confederation) by four goals to nil.
Lebanon started brightly and Northern Ireland keeper Luke Bellingham pulled off a great save in the sixth minute, pushing a shot onto the crossbar with his fingertips.
Two minutes later the U15s took the lead. Will Davison supplied the cross and Michael Mulholland scored with a well-taken finish.
On 12 minutes it was 2-0. This time Alfie Davidson found Mulholland in space and the striker made no mistake. It was another tidy finish.
Bellingham was called into action again before Mulholland completed his hat-trick in the 25th minute with a clinical strike from a Davison cross.
Lebanon hit the bar in the second half, however Northern Ireland wrapped up a fine win thanks to a great finish from Dara Donnan.
The FIFA U15 World Cup and Festival is offering FIFA member associations of all sizes and with varying football traditions the opportunity to participate in a competition on the global stage.
Youth National Coach McClean has chosen a 14-player Northern Ireland squad to take part in the tournament. The players mainly come from the Irish FA’s JD Academy (residential and non-residential).
The inaugural edition of the FIFA U15 World Cup and Festival will pave the way for FIFA to establish the competition as a fixture of the international game, with the first girls’ tournament scheduled for next year. Both girls’ and boys’ tournaments are then planned to take place annually from 2028.
The competition features an 8v8 format with 20-minute halves designed to maximise player development and match experience.
FIFA says it is a development-orientated festival of football rather than a conventional knockout-style World Cup.
The 189 competing nations were initially split into 32 groups. The winners of each round-robin group qualified for the Tier A competition, with the other teams in each group going forward to compete in one of five other performance tiers based on qualification stage results.
Nearly 1000 games are due to be played across six matchdays at the Hovsan Competition Complex in Baku, with the tier finals on 30 October scheduled to take place at the Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan’s capital city.
The Northern Ireland squad at the inaugural FIFA U15 World Cup and Festival is as follows:
Goalkeepers – Luke Bellingham (Ballymena United), Cuan O’Bradaigh (Cliftonville).
Defenders –Cohen Ennis and JB Camlin (both Glentoran), Shea Donnelly (Ballinamallard United), Eoin McCann (Cliftonville).
Midfielders – Rylan Heaney (Norwich City), Alfie Davidson (Glentoran), Calum Evans (Linfield), Will Davison (Dungannon Swifts), Corey Harkin (Derry City).
Attackers – Conleth O’Neill and Dara Donnan (both Linfield), Michael Mulholland (Crusaders).
