All qualifying rounds leading up to the semifinals of the first edition of MICFootball Punta Cana, held at The Fields Cap Cana Sports City, were completed this Friday.
Therefore, in all five categories (U12, U13, U14, U15, and U16), the four teams that will fight for the title after today’s round are now known.
U12
The big favorites will be the stars of Saturday’s semifinals. In the first, FC Barcelona and Porto will play to seal their place in the final. The two quarterfinal matches were evenly contested, with 7-0 victories against Team ISL and Barça Academy RD. In the other semifinal, a duel between Real Madrid and The Soccer Lab took place. The Whites had a great time against FC23NXTERAFOOTBALL, whom they defeated 8-3. The Soccer Lab defeated Turín El Salvador 503 3-0, a result that gives them the opportunity to play this Saturday to reach the final.
The four consolation semifinalists are Barça Academy RD Grana, Real Romana FC, Proyecto JDB Red, and Selección Interbarrial, who defeated Surf Select on penalties (3-2).
U13
Costa Rica’s Liga Deportiva Alajuelense and Mexico’s Club América will compete to be the finalists in the U13 category. After two close semifinals, the Costa Rican team defeated Fútbol Consultants on penalties (7-6 and 0-0 in regulation time), while the Mexicans defeated Got FC with a solitary goal from Santiago Márquez. River Plate and CD Plaza Amador, on the other hand, demonstrated their superiority by winning the quarterfinals 4-0 against Inter Miami and Galácticos Soccer Academy. Giovanni Frontela (River Plate) and Jacop Linares (Plaza Amador) each scored doubles to advance their teams.
The consolation semifinals will pit Halcones SD against Selección Interbarrial on one side and Barça Academy RD against Proyecto JDB on the other.
U14
There was a standout duel in the quarterfinals between Olympique de Marseille and Aston Villa. Goals from Enzo Fernández for the French and Stoney-Gordon for the English led to penalties. From the penalty spot, Villa were the better team and will thus play in the semifinal of this category. They will face Miami Futbol Academy Rush, who edged College Cup by the narrowest margin, thanks to a solitary goal from Daniel Raldiris. The other duel to reach the grand final will feature LA Galaxy, who defeated Barça Academy RD by a clear 6-0, and ACFFI, one of the biggest surprises in the category. They qualified after defeating Punta Cana FC on penalties, 5-3 (after a 0-0 draw in regulation time).
The consolation semifinals will feature Club Real Deportivo RD against Downtown Soccer Academy and One FC against Califa Elite Program.
U15
Bayer Leverskusen will be the sole European representative in the U15 division. Of the four semifinalists, the German team will try to qualify for the final against Club América, who lost their quarterfinal match against FC23NXTERAFOOTBALL by the narrowest of margins. The duel between Inter Miami and Nación FC was also decided by a single goal (a goal scored by Derek Delgado). The North American team will face College Cup, a team from El Salvador, which secured a place in the semifinals by defeating Barça Academy RD. The match ended up going to a penalty shootout.
This Saturday morning, the consolation champion will also be decided. The title will go to Punta Cana FC, Benin FF, SD Colonial Blue, or Cibao FC.
U16
Santos will be one of the teams in the semifinals, after defeating Barça Academy RD 2-0. The Dominican team had won the previous qualifying round 4-3 against Highlights FC. The Brazilians will face Guayas FC. The Ecuadorian team forced penalties against Cruz Azul, one of the favorites to win the championship trophy, and beat them on penalties (4-1), after a 1-1 draw in regulation time. On the other side of the draw, Atlético de Madrid comfortably qualified for the semifinals after defeating Punta Cana FC (2-0). A place in the final will be difficult, as the red-and-whites will have to beat South Florida FA, who defeated Real Romana 6-0 thanks to a brace from Andrew Neves.
Downtown Soccer Academy, JDB Project, Califa Elite Program, and Nexgem Union Academy will compete to be crowned champions in the consolation round.
