‘Built on wins’: FC Porto lead the way in youth development | OneFootball

As the 2025/26 season enters its decisive stretch, the schedule becomes tighter and each matchday carries extra weight. The weeks are here when every point counts in the title race and it starts to become clear who has been the most consistent and who has ended up losing ground.

In this context, leading at this stage is more than just a statistic or a place in the table: it represents a clear advantage and a strong sign that the work is being done well.

At senior level, FC Porto have held 1st place since the opening rounds. But what if we told you that the Dragons are also dominating across the various age groups in which they compete? Right now, the under-19, under-17, under-15 and under-13 teams are leading their respective leagues.

Developing through winning

It is a well-known and widely discussed topic that victories are not the most important thing at youth level. Even so, they always help to highlight the work done by players, coaches and club officials. This season could hardly be going better for the Blue and Whites, who have shown enormous consistency across all age groups.

Although this analysis was mainly based on the national championships, from the senior side down to the under-15s, the truth is that we also chose to include FC Porto’s under-13 team, leaders of the AF Porto district championship with 62 points from 24 matchdays. It is worth noting that the little Dragons have played one game fewer than Leixões, who are second with the same number of points.

Even so, Porto’s youth side has neither the best attack nor the best defence in the competition. At the moment, the leaders in those categories are the bebés do mar, which makes this first place even more special.

From the under-15s onward, the picture is different: the Dragons, already competing at national level, won the Northern Series of the First Division with ease. Their strong form has continued in the Championship Qualification Phase, with Porto sitting alone at the top – they beat Sporting 1-5, are the only team without a defeat and have a three-point lead over the Lions.

The same story is being repeated with the under-17s, as the Dragons won the Northern Series without difficulty and have now taken the lead in the Championship Phase, also unbeaten and with a three-point cushion over the Lisbon side.

Likewise, the under-19s had a first phase of a very high level, while also balancing that competition with their few Youth League matches – they were eliminated by Real Betis in the third round. Even so, on the domestic front, things could not be going better: they remain unbeaten and alone at the top of the First Division Championship Qualification Phase, after another thrashing of the Alcochete side (6-0).

This is, without doubt, a very significant change compared to last season, when the Porto club failed to win any titles and even missed out on a final stage, in the case of the under-13s. A similar revolution to that of the first team squad, which the previous year was knocked out of the title race early and is now the main candidate to win the league.

The team coached by Francesco Farioli has recorded 23 wins in 27 matchdays, along with three draws and just one defeat. Their current 72 points already surpass the 71 collected in the whole of the 2024/25 season. At the same stage of the previous campaign, the side then managed by Martín Anselmi had only 56 points.

Little Dragons standing out

Collective success also tends to drive individual performances – there is a very close link between the two. But who has been standing out the most?

Xavier Faria and Diogo Oliveira are the leading scorers for the under-13s, with eight goals each. The duo has played only 16 matches at that level, as they have featured in different age groups and even in other sports, such as futsal.

In the under-15s, Tiago Portugal has been finding the net regularly: he already has 25 goals in 26 matches. As well as currently being the top scorer in the Championship Phase, the 15-year-old forward had already stood out in the Northern Series.

With similar numbers, but in fewer matches, Tcherno Jamanca has 25 goals in 21 games for the under-17s. After finishing as top scorer in the first half of the youth championship, the forward from Guinea-Bissau remains in the hunt for the same award in the decisive phase.

Finally, Eduardo Ferreira has been a key figure for the under-19s, even while being part of the golden generation that has shone at the highest level in the national team’s youth ranks: Martim Chelmik, Bernardo Lima, Mateus Mide, Yoan Pereira and Duarte Cunha.

The 17-year-old striker has scored 23 goals in 29 matches for the under-19s. This record has not gone unnoticed and has already earned him a few call-ups to the B team.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.