'Be on our A game', insists Munda ahead of UEFA Youth League trip | OneFootball

The Toon teenagers face their Belgian counterparts at the Joseph Marien Stadium, home of Union's first-team, in their first away fixture in this season's competition, ultimately aiming to finish in the top 22 spots of the 36-team group to advance into the knockout stages.

Munda, who travelled with Newcastle's first-team squad for their pre-season tour of Asia last summer, believes that the young Magpies are capable of reaching the last-32 for the first time in the club's history.

The 19-year-old midfielder, who joined Newcastle's Academy as a nine-year-old, told newcastleunited.com: "We're all up for it. It's such a big competition and we want to do well in it so we're excited for our first away game.

"We get to play against the best players across Europe at our age group and the experience of travelling to different countries is great for us as you don't always get to travel abroad that often.

"We're happy to be in it but we don't want to just take part. We want to actually compete and try and get into the latter rounds of the competition because, as a squad, we're all good enough to do so and there is belief we can.

"The last time we played in the Youth league, the advantage was playing each team twice, getting a feel of what they're like. This time round, it's more about making sure our preparation is good as we're more than likely playing a side we've never faced before so we need to be on our A game and play our best football."

Newcastle's youngsters kicked off their Youth League campaign with a narrow 3-2 defeat against FC Barcelona, almost staging an impressive comeback after trailing by three goals at half-time against the defending champions.

Munda thought his side were unfortunate to come away empty-handed but, despite the loss, is keen to build on a spirited second-half display heading into upcoming Youth League fixtures.

"We lost 3-2 but I thought it was a close game," the Cowgate-born teenager added. "They were a really good side and hats off to them for getting across the line but I felt the lads, after the game, gave them a good go.

"There was lots of positives to take from it, especially in the second-half, as there were moments during the game where we were on top and could've equalised. Unfortunately, we didn't but I thought we dealt with the pressure of playing against the defending champions very well.

"After the game, we know the standard we have to be at, playing against one of the better teams in the tournament, we know the levels we have to get up to."