Tuka Tisam reflects on Cook Islands’ youth's football milestone

A Pacific football coach says achieving clear tournament goals and ticking off a maiden victory on the global stage has given his young players reason to celebrate.

The Cook Islands under-15 boys' national team is celebrating a landmark achievement following a 2-1 victory over St Lucia at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026 in Azerbaijan.

For 14 players representing the Cook Islands, the tournament has offered an unprecedented taste of global football at the custom-built Hovsan Competition Complex.

Organised by FIFA to provide competitive opportunities for emerging football nations, the tournament brings together 189 member associations in an eight-a-side format played across smaller pitches.

After five consecutive defeats in their opening fixtures, the Cook Islands under-15 national team secured a 2-1 victory against St Lucia.

Tuka Tisam, the Head Coach of the team, explains how breaking the tournament into tangible milestones keeps the group focused.

“We had a couple of goals to achieve in this World Cup. The first one was to score our first goal, which was against Turkmenistan.

Listen to Tuka Tisam’s full interview below.

“We did and the boys celebrated that goal. So that was a tick off our box. That win against St Lucia, because one of our other goals was to win one game, [so] that was the box that we ticked.

While the squad is accustomed to standard 11-a-side matches on full-sized pitches in Oceania qualifying tournaments, the FIFA U-15 event has an eight-a-side format played across reduced-size pitches with two 20-minute halves.

Tisam says that the game moves too quickly for tactical overhauls, requiring a focus on mindset instead.

He says to help the young players handle the pressure of an international event, the staff worked on breathing exercises to settle their nerves.

“It was just giving them more confidence and positive reinforcement and that gave them that edge, above the other teams and that's how they were performing at that level.”

That resilience has paid dividends against Caribbean side St Lucia. Speaking with Cook Islands News, Epa Manuela, a striker for the under-15 team, says he felt immense pride scoring his country's opening goal in Baku.

Taianu Williams, the Captain of the team, has also shared his appreciation, telling the Cook Islands News they were determined.

“First win of the World Cup… Thank you to all the supporters that've been supporting us through this journey and please keep supporting us as we go.”

The squad finished 117th overall, fulfilling another major goal of avoiding coming last. .

Tisam says he’s really proud.

“To the boys and any of the families. friends and supporters that watch us: Thank you for your support. And our thanks to my management staff. They worked hard in getting this team there and back safely.”

The squad is now looking ahead to the Oceania Football Confederation qualifying tournament in Tonga in March 2027.