The preliminary round of the FIFA Under-15 Boys World Cup & Festival is now complete, and in spite of three goals from Anaj Polius, Saint Lucia’s young Piton Boyz have been unable to secure their footing, losing all of their matches so far in Azerbaijan.
The team played five games over three days in Group N, facing Palestine, Yemen, Croatia, Greece, and Aruba in small-sided matches. They lost 6-0, 4-2, 3-0, 4-1, and 7-0. Those results left Saint Lucia at the bottom of the group standings.
Polius, who also played for the national team at the Caribbean Football Union Under-14 Boys’ Challenge last summer, netted all three of Saint Lucia’s goals at the Hosvan Competition Complex. The Monchy United striker, a student at Leon Hess Comprehensive School, has been a particularly bright spot for the Piton Boyz.
Saint Lucia will move into Tier F for the next stage of competition, which gets underway on Wednesday. They will play four or five additional matches against teams with similar records before the event concludes.
Head coach Earl Jean and assistant Michael McLaughlin say that notwithstanding the results, spirits are high in camp, and the boys have been giving a very good account of themselves, improving steadily during a fast-paced competition.
Prior to departure, McLaughlin, a FIFA talent development coach, had stated that exposure was the primary goal for this tour. The team will continue to face different styles of play in a high-performance environment over the coming days.
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