(Football news) At the Reliance Corporate Park (RCP), all eight teams will face off in their group matches on day two of the Reliance Foundation presents Premier League Next Generation Cup. The eight teams—four from India, three from England, and one from South Africa—will try to improve their prospects of coming out on top in their respective groups. On May 26, Friday, the tournament’s final will pit the top team from each group against one another. Here is the Saturday schedule and matchup breakdown.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs FCRF Young Champs, 4pm
At 4 o’clock, the Wolves will try to maintain their recent success against the similarly enthusiastic and optimistic Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) team. Both teams entered this game with winning records from their respective prior games. On Wednesday, Wolverhampton overcame Everton, another English opponent, 4-0, while RFYC defeated Sudeva Dekhi FC 1-0. RFYC must be cautious of the Wolves’ set-piece threat, but this is a chance for them to show their mettle against a well-coordinated and talented foe.
“Of course, we study about them from their previous games. From the set-pieces, they have a great delivery from number 8. They have some plans to disturb the defending shape. It will be interesting. We try to study as much as possible and we try to prepare the boys as much as possible. So, now, its fingers crossed and let’s see,” RFYC coach Arata Izumi assessed the Wolves ahead of their faceoff.
“We certainly won’t take any of the Indian clubs lightly. We come here with the greatest respect for any of the opponents that we play. I have been in the game long enough to know that the moment you take any team lightly, that’s when you get hurt. That’s when you get beaten. We certainly won’t do that with the teams we are not sure of. If the players do that, we know we will get punished,” Wolves coach James Collins expressed.
Sudeva Delhi FC vs Everton FC, 4pm.
After receiving unfavourable results in the tournament opener, the two teams will be vying for their first victory of the competition here. Despite the loss to RFYC, Sudeva had a lot of heart. They have a team that is in good shape, as seen by their RFDL performances. However, the Toffees must have learned a lot from their matchup with the Wolves. The Merseyside squad will be expecting to provide a much more polished performance in their second encounter of the season because they have had more time to train and practise.
“Anything can happen if we can capitalise on our opportunities. But, Wolves seemed to be very strong. So we have to be realistic too. Obviously we need to have a precise plan for that but let’s see how we work tomorrow, Sudeva coach Chencho Dorji spoke of Everton and their defeat to the Wolves on Wednesday.
“I think we watched the game that they (Sudeva) played. We saw a well-organised team, a well-structured one that was unfortunate to lose the game. Another day and it could have been a different story. But yeah, we have analysed the team. We know what their strengths and weaknesses are and we will certainly be putting the message across to our lads and let them know what to expect,” Everton coach Kieran Driscoll touched upon Sudeva and their performance against RFYC the other day.
West Ham United FC vs Bengaluru FC, 8pm.
On Wednesday, Bengaluru FC and West Ham United FC played a competitive match. The Hammers, FA Youth Cup winners, and ATK Mohun Bagan drew 1-1 thanks to a strike from substitute Favour Fawunmi.
Bengaluru may have learned something from that contest because they will be eager to get off to a good start after suffering a close 1-0 defeat to Stellenbosch FC in their previous encounter. In that game, the Blues had several excellent scoring opportunities that they had failed to take advantage of. The frontline needs to be more effective if they are to succeed against West Ham United.
“I look at my team first. I look at my strength. I plan according to my strength and their weaknesses as well. But, it depends on how they and we play that day,” Bengaluru FC coach Kaizad Ambapardiwalla spoke of if he senses a chance to win the upcoming match considering West Ham’s performance against ATK Mohun Bagan on May 17.
He added, “Winning the RFDL and most importantly we are now playing against teams we don’t know when we will play next. So, it’s an opportunity for us to play against those teams that are good at the highest level. So, we can both learn and improve from them.”
“We are looking for building connections, building relationships because we have boys coming around from different age groups. Not often do they play together week to week, so each game, each training session is an opportunity us to build upon,”
West Ham coach Lauris Coggin said post his team’s training session on the eve of their game against Bengaluru.
“They are energetic, hungry to impress and perform, which is something that we have to be ready for from the first minute. We have learnt a lot from the first game. We have had time to reflect on that and we are looking forward to tomorrow,” Coggin added.
ATK Mohun Bagan FC vs. Stellenbosch FC, 8pm.
At 8 o’clock at RCP, the reigning champions Stellenbosch FC will face a hard-charging ATK Mohun Bagan team. In their most recent match, both teams managed to score one goal each, but they also displayed excellent defensive discipline that kept their opponents at bay. The Mariners will be confident after holding West Ham to a draw in the most recent game, while Stellenbosch marked an undefeated start to their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Bengaluru FC. ATK Mohun Bagan was back on the practise pitch, working on a variety of drills and techniques to improve their performance against Stellenbosch on Saturday.
“All the clubs and all the national team staff everybody has to say thank you for this (to Reliance Foundation). Last season, there were eight teams, this season is around 60, and maybe next season 200 teams will play for this beautiful cup. The country needs this. We need matches. We need tournaments. We need leagues. We need to give exposure to our players. So, thanks to Reliance. We all have to be grateful and say thank you for these matches,” ATK Mohun Bagan coach Josep Maria Roma Gibert reflected on his team’s journey in the RFDL and the Reliance Foundation presents Premier League Next Generation Cup.
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