National team
Albania U-15 finish their group with five wins in Azerbaijan and reach the top 32 of the FIFA tournament
Coach Armand Dama's side also beat Ivory Coast 2-0 with two goals from Santiago Perkola and advanced to Tier A of the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 26, 2026, 19:45 · Updated 18:41 · 1 min read
In brief
- Albania U-15 won all five Group Y matches and finished first.
- Santiago Perkola scored in the 23rd and 36th minutes of the 2-0 win over Ivory Coast.
- The Albanians move into Tier A, where the 32 best teams compete for the title.
Albania's U-15 national team closed the first phase of the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026 in Azerbaijan with a perfect record. Coach Armand Dama's side won all five Group Y matches and secured first place. The Albanian side left for Azerbaijan last week and came through the group stage without a single defeat or draw.
In the last group match, Albania beat Ivory Coast 2-0. Both goals were scored by Santiago Perkola, in the 23rd and 36th minutes, BalkanWeb reports.
Five wins, 21 goals
The Albanian side had opened the tournament with a 6-2 win over the Turks and Caicos Islands, followed by 4-1 against Mauritania, 4-0 against Rwanda and 5-0 against Vanuatu. In total, Albania scored 21 goals and conceded only three in five matches. A goal difference of +18 makes Dama's side one of the most convincing of the group stage, while Perkola was the protagonist in the decisive match for first place.
The second phase
By finishing first in the group, Albania advanced to Tier A, which includes the tournament's 32 best teams. The second phase is divided into six competitive levels, and teams keep playing until the final day. The winner of Tier A will be crowned champion of the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026.
Meanwhile, the U-21 national team has also scheduled its next match: the Albanians will play a friendly against Luxembourg on Nov. 13 at the “Air Albania” stadium in Tirana, BalkanWeb reports.
