U15 defeated on penalties by Barcelona

YOUTH Anderlecht's U15, led by coach Stéphane Stassin, spent a week in Abu Dhabi for an international tournament. Despite a relatively simple field of participants, the mauves took advantage of the excellent facilities to strengthen team cohesion. Sports-wise, they managed to qualify for the final without too much difficulty, but ultimately had to lose out to FC Barcelona in an exciting penalty shootout series. In the group stage, the team had few problems and finished with an impressive goal difference of +20.


This enabled them to take first place and advance to the semifinals. There they met the home team Alwahda Academy, where they reached the final after a draw via penalty kicks.

In the exciting final, the young Brussels players competed with the renowned youth of Barcelona's Masia Academy, known for training world-class players. Unfortunately, the penalty kick series proved to be an obstacle for the Brusselers and they eventually lost.

During the tournament, an Anderlecht player was named best player in four of the five matches. Samory Kone stood out during the opening match, while Cresus Kana and June Goto were also in the spotlight in the second and third matches, respectively. Kana, the captain, was additionally named man of the match.

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