Last month we took part in the Paris Saint-Germain Academy World Cup for the second time and what an experience it was!
Players from our partner schools (including; Anglo European School, Mount St Mary’s College and Lord Grey Academy) and our London grass roots team formed the squad who represented Team UK in the under 13’s category. Before heading to Paris we knew we would be facing some incredibly tough opponents in Group 2 which included: Brazil, France, Hong Kong and USA East.
Despite this the boys were incredibly excited and couldn’t wait to get to Paris!
Day 1
Day 1 was travel day and a chance for the teams to socialise and see the sites of Paris in style on the Bateaux Mouches! It really is the best way to see the City of Light as you sail down the Seine, past the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and other iconic monuments.
Day 2
The tournament began for Team UK with a match against PSG Academy Hong Kong. As the squad started warming up and gelling, they were unfortunate to have two goals disallowed in the first half with Hong Kong then taking the lead.
However, player Fareed getting onto the pitch was a catalyst in helping us to score 4 goals in the final 6 minutes! Fareed scored 1 and assisted 2, he had a huge impact from the bench earning him Man of the Match. Ralph, Aniq, Wamtz and Kieran also scored.
Our second game was against The Paris Saint-Germain Academy France.
Wamz and Rocco formed a strong defensive partnership and did everything they could to prevent France from scoring but France were a strong opponent and earnt a 2-0 win. Excellent performance from both defenders!
France went on to reach the final.
Our third game was against the eventual winners of the category, PSG Academy Brazil. Extremely tough game against a formidable opponent but Team UK did everything they could and Man of the Match went to Seth.
As we reached our final game against PSG Academy USA East, the team had bonded and discovered each other’s strengths. Despite some good passing defensive errors lose us the game 3-1. Man of the match went to Thomas.
It was a challenging day of football after being placed in what has now been named ‘the group of death’. France, USA East and Brazil all made the semi-finals. Team UK had some great moments in the day which they should be incredibly proud of!
Later that evening all of the teams participated in a pitch walk at Parc Des Princes as PSG faced Toulouse. The players had the amazing opportunity of stopping just in front of the tunnel to watch all the players come onto the pitch! Despite PSG losing they were crowned the champions of the League and it was a spectacular scene to watch them team lift the trophy and celebrate!
Day 3
On the third day after a night to remember at Parc Des Princes we faced PSG Academy West Indies. It was another great performace by the boys. Despite being two down we were close to another comeback, inspired by Velonso’s work and skill. His assist to Fareed put us within touching distance of a comeback with several opportunities for equalizing. However, we conceded on the counter and West Indies took the win. Velonso took Player of the match.
In the next game against PSG Academy Egypt the team end the day with a win. A lot of goals for the boys scored by Thomas, Fareed, Kieran and Aniq. Man of the match went to Kieran.
Day 4
On the final day we faced Hong Kong again in the Place Play offs. It was a dominant final performance and we ended the tournament of a high as Fareed scored a hat trick and goals from Wamtz and Kieran too!
Brazil took home the trophy for this category after facing France in the final. Other winners of the tournament included PSG Academy British Columbia. Huge well done to the winners and everyone who took part in the PSG Academy World Cup! It was truly an unforgettable experience and we can’t wait to be back again in 2025!