Youth national soccer team of Moldova // Photo: fmf.md
Young stars from top English clubs Jamie Gittens (Chelsea) and Rico Lewis (Manchester City) scored, while the double was scored by Divin Mubama, on loan from Stoke City in the EFL Championship. Mubama scored one of the goals from the penalty spot.
The match took place at the Zimbru stadium in Chisinau in the presence of 2.800 spectators. The teams were judged by a team of referees from Hungary, headed by Benze Csonka.
The head coach of “tricolor” Serghei Cebotari named the reasons for the defeat, which, in his opinion, are not related to the psychological preparation of his wards. “If in previous matches we had chances for a positive result, then in this game it was very difficult for us. We must learn a lesson and prepare the players for the first national team. After the previous three matches, three players were taken away from us. There is a chance for other guys who come to replace them. We have a preparatory process. We should be fine with psychology. I don’t think that’s the problem. The problem is that we are not ready to play in high intensity and at such speeds. I’m proud of many guys who moved to the national team. It means that the preparatory stage of their development went correctly,” said the specialist.
The Moldovan “youth” suffered its third consecutive defeat and is on the fourth place in Group D (see the standings). The group leaders – the national teams of Slovakia and Ireland – played a draw (2:2). Andorra won its first victory in six years – in a match against Kazakhstan (1:0).
The next match the team under the leadership of Sergei Chebotar will play away against Slovakia on October 14. Before the end of the year will be another meeting – with the national team of Kazakhstan on their field (November 17). The remaining four qualifying matches will be held in 2026.
|
Position in Group D of the qualifying cycle for the youth World Cup 2026 |
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|
№ |
National team | P | W | D | L | G |
Pts |
|
1 |
Slovakia (U-21)* |
3 |
2 | 1 | 0 | 8-4 |
7 |
|
2 |
Ireland (U-21)** |
3 |
2 | 1 | 0 | 5-3 |
7 |
|
3 |
England (U-21) |
2 |
2 | 0 | 0 | 6-0 |
6 |
|
4 |
Moldova (U-21) |
4 |
1 | 0 | 3 | 6-9 |
3 |
|
5 |
Kazakhstan (U-21) |
3 |
1 | 0 | 2 | 1-3 |
3 |
|
6 |
Andorra (U-21) |
5 |
1 | 0 | 4 | 1-8 |
3 |
| * The first place team in the group directly qualifies for the European Youth Championships
** The second-placed team will compete for a place in two knockout matches with a team from the other group. |
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