“Just two games away from the title”: BVB youth team eye another triumph in England | OneFootball

The scenarioEven Niko Kovac was full of praise after the team reached the semi-finals in mid-March: “Congratulations to the lads and the entire coaching staff. Reaching the semi-finals of this tournament is certainly a great achievement,” said the BVB Bundesliga coach after the 2-0 victory in the quarter-final against Everton. Three wins in the group stage against Leeds United (3–0), West Ham United (2–1) and Sunderland (3–1) had secured Borussia top spot in the group, with just one defeat against Manchester United (0–2). Six weeks after the victory over Everton, the next step is now set to follow against Real Sociedad. “We’ve worked hard to reach this highlight at the end of the season. We’re just two games away from a title – that naturally makes it special,” says U19 coach Felix Hirschnagl, who will lead the team as head coach. He will be supported by U23 coach Daniel Rios.

Personnel mattersBVB have fielded one of the youngest squads in the tournament so far. In the quarter-final against Everton, the average age of the starting eleven was just 19.1 years, whilst Real Sociedad’s was 20.8 years. For Hirschnagl, this is no disadvantage: “It’s definitely senior football. We’re approaching this with a very young squad, which is a major challenge for us – but we still want to be competitive.”

Preparation was limited: before setting off for London on Tuesday afternoon, the schedule included just two joint training sessions and a video session. Borussia will be without the recovering Mussa Kaba and Samuele Inacio, who made his first Bundesliga start against SC Freiburg. In return, Taycan Etcibasi returns; with three goals, he is Dortmund’s top scorer in the tournament. Inacio, Mathis Albert, Thierry Tazemeta and Romeo Ritter have featured in all five matches so far.

The squad: Aaron Held, Jan-Mattis Wehrbein; Danylo Krevsun, Jan-Luca Riedl, Luca Reggiani, Romeo Ritter, Almugera Kabar, Miguel Adje, Tony Reitz, Luke Fahrenhorst, Enzo Duarte dos Santos, Tom Faust, Justin Hoy, Fadi Zarqelain, Ousmane Diallo, Mathis Albert, Taycan Etcibasi

The oppositionThe semi-final opponents from the north of Spain will be a real test of maturity. Like BVB, Real Sociedad also qualified for the knockout stages as group winners – following matches against Newcastle United (0-0), Brighton & Hove Albion (2-1), Chelsea (3-2) and Nottingham Forest (1-0). The Basques put in a particularly impressive performance in their convincing 3-0 quarter-final victory over Crystal Palace. “This is the most challenging task so far. Real Sociedad are very strong in terms of their playing style – a typical Spanish side that enjoy plenty of possession and take a creative approach. We need to take the joy out of their game,” says Hirschnagl.

Elite clashThe Premier League International Cup, which has been held since the 2014/15 season, traditionally features a star-studded line-up. In this edition, 16 English and 16 international teams took part. Only the top two from each of the four groups progressed to the knockout stages. Alongside BVB, Borussia Mönchengladbach and RB Leipzig represented Germany, though they were eliminated in the group stage. Renowned clubs such as Manchester City, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Benfica also had to bow out early. Alongside Dortmund and Real Sociedad, Dinamo Zagreb and Real Madrid complete the semi-final line-up. The final is scheduled for 20 May, though the venue has yet to be confirmed.