PSG Academy Qatar secure GCC title with win over Juventus Academy Oman
This past weekend (Nov 3rd - 4th) was PSG Academy Qatar’s turn to host Round 2 of the GCC Cup Series – A tournament that aims to expose the GCC’s top Football Academies.
The tournament is divided into multiple series, with each GCC Country assigned as a host nation (Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, KSA and the UAE). The format is focused on point accumulation based on an entire season.
On match day 2 of the competition, PSG Academy faced Juventus Oman in an actioned-packed final. Described as “A very strong and physical team”; the match went onto penalty shootouts after a scoreless draw with PSG Academy drawing a Red Card in the final minutes of regulation time.
Mohammed Taha Ghanjaoui (age 15) scored the final penalty to secure the win for les Rouge et Bleu (3-2).
Mohamed Yassine Dridi (age 15) was awarded goalkeeper of the tournament conceding 2 goals in 13 matches.
PSG Academy head Coach, Eduardo Santos who played an instrumental role in the team’s victory, stated “I am extremely proud of the boys. After our stint in Bahrain, we only had two weeks to prepare the boys to play in a way I wanted them to. Something I always try to instill in my players is that we need to encourage one another always, regardless of the situation. That is the mentality with which we came into this tournament, and I believe it’s the reason we came out victorious. I’m so proud of them."
The next round of the GCC Cup Series will feature PSG Academy; s under U15 team traveling to Abu Dhabi on November 17th.