The very best teenage talent in the UAE have come together under the du LaLiga High Performance Centre in a mission to achieve their potential and become professional footballers.
The starlets all have a huge chance in Marbella this month as they aim to impress LaLiga scouts and earn trials at clubs while playing top-class Spanish academies.
Sport360° are there for the first week of the tour – check out the best of Day 4 below.
The Under-18s made it two wins out of two in Spain by following up their 2-1 victory in Cadiz with a disciplined performance against Sevilla.
Driss Matni – who got on the scoresheet against Cadiz – opened the scoring 15 minutes into the match.
A failed attempt at a clearance from the Sevilla defence enabled team captain Neto to send a beautiful throughball to Matni, who slotted a shot through the last defender’s legs and into the back of the net.
Driss Lightning: Matni (l) scored the only goal of the Under-18s match.
From then on the du LaLiga HPC team maintained a strong defensive stance, stifling all Sevilla attempts on goal with man-to-man marking and solid defensive lines blocking any counter-attacks.
His participation was in doubt due to an injury that kept him out of the Cadiz match but Yahya Iraqi was a sight to behold when he came on in the second half.
Flitting between the wing and central attack, Yahya seemed to have more time on the ball than the rest of the players on the pitch.
He was especially dangerous transitioning the ball from midfield to attack in tight spaces and gave Sevilla plenty to think about.
The Under-16s recovered from the loss of their first competitive match against Cadiz style after striker Mehdi Elkhamlichi completed a hat-trick in the second half.
Elkhamlichi put the tourists in front in the 10th minute before Sevilla battled back to level terms in a sweeping counter-attack.
However, that was one of the few chances that the HPC team allowed and they were soon back in front, Elkhamlichi applying another neat finish 25 minutes in.
Tour De Four-ce: The Under-16s pose after their superb 4-1 victory.
Some clever footwork helped Elkhamlichi evade all Sevilla defenders in his path and finish off his treble midway through the second half.
The visitors also had the last word – and what a statement it was. Abhinav John, who is just 13 years of age, struck a swooping effort from 25 metres out to round off a fine win.
John and especially Elkhamlichi may have deserved much of the praise but two players stood out further back on the pitch.
Before the Under-16s sped away in the second half they needed to be vigilant in defence and centre-backs Mohamed El Shabrawy and Abdul Rahman were beasts at the back.
Save for one defensive lapse that led to the goal, Yahthe pairing were imperious and El Shabrawy even made one surging run through the middle that sparked a promising attack.
“I think we played very well, and in the second half we continued with the same instruction coach Rafa (Gil) told us.
“In the second half we started getting a bit tired and losing concentration, and that’s when we let them have space and we didn’t respect what coach Rafa told us. But in the end we regained our concentration and sealed the win.
“I injured myself the day before the first game so I didn’t play or train for a few days. I just made it in time for this one and came on in the second half.
“I had the spirit and wanted to prove to coach Rafa that I deserved my place in the team and my injury wasn’t that big an issue. I gave everything and think I played well.”
“Because we communicated and played our game, it was easy for us – we were mentally ready for our match. The goals we didn’t really focus on, we just play and the goals come later on.
“We focused on counter-attacks because we all know Sevilla play really fast so we tried to get the ball and play on the wings. One goal came from the counter-attack and mostly we pressed, to get the ball and score.
“Personally I think I’ve been playing at the top of my game so far, but I hope I keep going on.”
