Spain have won the inaugural FIFA U-15 Boys’ World Cup, beating Czechia 3-0 in the Tier A final in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Spaniards completed an unbeaten campaign, winning all 10 matches at the tournament, which brought together 189 nations from six continental confederations.
Spain began their campaign with a 4-2 win against Chile and maintained their winning record throughout the competition.
Their success continued a remarkable year for Spanish football, following victories at the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup and FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Spain are also the reigning FIFA Women’s World Cup champions.
Main photo: Spain … winners 2026 FIFA U-15 Boys’ World Cup, Photo credit: FIFA.
The inaugural U-15 tournament featured six competition tiers, giving teams opportunities to continue playing regardless of their earlier results.
The six tier winners were:
Tier A: Spain — beat Czechia 3-0.
Tier B: Zambia — beat Portugal 5-2.
Tier C: Belarus — beat Tunisia 3-0.
Tier D: Tajikistan — beat Canada 4-2.
Tier E: Central African Republic — beat Bangladesh 4-1.
Tier F: New Zealand — beat Ethiopia 2-1.
New Zealand’s Tier F success completed a turnaround after losing four of their five qualification matches.
The New Zealanders recovered to beat Cook Islands 3-0 and Malta 2-1 before defeating Nepal on penalties after a 1-1 semi-final draw.
Their victory against Ethiopia completed a run of four successive wins in the tournament’s classification stages.
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The New Zealand squad celebrate their win against Ethiopia. Photo credit: FIFA.
New Zealand were the only Oceania representatives among the six tier finalists, with the region’s 11 participating nations recording 20 victories between them.
FIFA say almost 3,000 young players took part in the event, which featured 932 matches and 4,505 goals.
An average of 4.83 goals were scored per game, while 187 of the 189 participating nations recorded at least one victory.
The tournament’s emphasis was on player development, international experience and providing young footballers with opportunities to compete against opponents from different countries.
How the tournament format worked
The inaugural FIFA U-15 Boys’ World Cup and Festival in Azerbaijan used a format designed to give young players more international experience, rather than eliminate teams after a few matches.
The 189 participating nations began in qualification groups before moving into different competition tiers, based on their results. This allowed teams of similar playing strength to compete against each other as the tournament progressed.
Though the later stages used familiar round-of-32, round-of-16 and quarter-final structures, defeats did not necessarily mean a team’s tournament was over.
The format provided more matches and development opportunities, with the emphasis on participation rather than simply determining a champion.
Games were played eight-a-side on smaller pitches, with 40-minute matches and rolling substitutions giving more players opportunities to gain international experience.
This story was first published on November 1, 2026.