U-16: Four days of training in Minsk and control game against Belarus await before the Development Cup of Ukraine

15.01.2019 18:31

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

Shakhtar Donetsk defender Mark Mampassi, one of the leaders of the Ukrainian U-16 youth team, spoke about the team's preparations for the Development Cup.

On January 14, the Ukrainian U-16 youth team left for Minsk, where the traditional international tournament will take place on January 20-28. Team mentor Alexander Petrakov took on the Development Cup of 19 football players, including Marco Mampassi, who shared his expectations on the eve of the competition:

"At each meeting we have a new team. Now it was not possible for the Dynamo players to come, so they called other players. However, we quickly find common ground and understanding with newcomers.

In Minsk, we have four days of training and a control game against the Belarusian team. Then the tournament will start, where we will play three matches in the group, and then everything will depend on what place we will take in it.

We will play with Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia. The first task for us is to leave the group. Of course, it will be difficult after the holidays, but we hope for a decent result. "

A total of 12 national teams (most of them U-17) will take part in the competition, which is divided into three groups of four teams. According to the format of the tournament, the winners of the groups and the best team among those who will take the second places will reach the semifinals.