Iraq's under-15s finish 62nd at FIFA tournament

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's under-15 football team ended its FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival campaign in Azerbaijan on Friday with a 3-0 defeat to Haiti, finishing 62nd out of 189 teams.

The loss came after a mixed Thursday. Iraq fell to Georgia 4-3 on penalties in the morning after a 2-2 draw, then bounced back in the evening to beat El Salvador 3-2.

Their hopes of challenging for the top places in Level B had already ended on Wednesday, when they lost 2-1 to Madagascar and then went down 4-3 on penalties to Guatemala.

Iraq had made a strong start to the tournament, winning their first four matches before Egypt handed them a 4-1 defeat that decided the top spot in their group.

The tournament uses an eight-a-side format on 68-by-47-metre pitches, with two 20-minute halves. All teams continue playing through the final day, with the competition designed to give young players extensive international match experience.