Shakhtar U15 and U17 played in the MICFootball semi-finals
Sunday, April 20, 2025
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Shakhtar Academy teams are among the best at MICFootball
Shakhtar Academy teams of the U15 and U17 age categories took part in one of the most prestigious youth tournaments in the world, MICFootball, held in Spain, Costa Brava. According to the regulations, they started the competition in the group stage and took first places in their groups, advanced to the play-offs and ended up in the top four in their age categories.
Shakhtar U17
Under the guidance of Volodymyr Samborskyi, the Miners successfully started the competition among the U18 age category performers. Despite playing the matches against older opponents, the team demonstrated high performance in the group stage, gained the maximum number of points and became the winner.
Group stage
Shakhtar U17 4-0 Us Talentprojekt
Shakhtar U17 2-1 Acatec Espana
Shakhtar U17 5-0 Cambridge United B
Play-offs
Having taken first place, Shakhtar U17 continued their tournament journey. The Miners defeated Parkland Soccer Club in a penalty shootout (4-2) in the Round of 32, claimed a convincing victory over Majestic FC A (3-0) in the Round of 16, and were more accurate than Academia Puerto Cabello in a penalty shootout in the quarter-final (3-2). However, right before the final, the Miners lost to Albion (2-4) in another penalty shootout and ended their performance at the semi-final stage, gaining invaluable international experience.
Volodymyr Samborskyi, head coach:
– Actually, there are not enough matches with similar dynamics, pace and speed in Ukraine, because at MICFootball all teams try to dictate their play: they press actively, act aggressively, and are unyielding in the fight. Therefore, the experience of participating in this tournament is invaluable. Despite being the youngest team in our age group, I think we achieved a good result, although we could have reached the final. The guys gave their all in every match and, most importantly, tried to impose their style of play.
Shakhtar U15
The Orange-Blacks, under the guidance of Oleksandr Ovchynnikov, completed the group stage of the competition with a 100 percent result, becoming triumphant.
Group stage
Shakhtar U15 6-0 CE Juncaria
Shakhtar U15 4-2 BIG Talent
Shakhtar U15 6-0 Voorschoten ’97
Play-offs
A successful performance in the group stage allowed the Pitmen to continue their fight in the play-offs of the competition. In the final round, the Orange-and-Blacks demonstrated a confident game and defeated Soccer + Guadeloupe (3-0) and TSF Academy Mlsnext (4-0), and they claimed a convincing victory over Arsenal London (3-0) in the match for a place in the semi-finals. The Pitmen met with Spanish Atletico In the semi-final, but this time the opponent was stronger (0-3), so Shakhtar U15 finished their performance at the semi-final stage.
Oleksandr Ovchynnikov, head coach:
– The team gained valuable experience, as this year’s MICFootball campaign attracted a record number of participants in the history of the tournament. We were able to compete with representatives from many countries, who demonstrated different styles and character of the game. The tournament was definitely beneficial, it was clear that the players were highly motivated, although at the same time they were nervous, so perhaps we lacked mental resilience a bit. Performances at such level were a strong push for the young players: they felt the necessary speed, intensity and scope of work, which will come in handy during upcoming matches in the DUFLU.
Shakhtar U17
Under the guidance of Volodymyr Samborskyi, the Miners successfully started the competition among the U18 age category performers. Despite playing the matches against older opponents, the team demonstrated high performance in the group stage, gained the maximum number of points and became the winner.
Group stage
Shakhtar U17 4-0 Us Talentprojekt
Shakhtar U17 2-1 Acatec Espana
Shakhtar U17 5-0 Cambridge United B
Play-offs
Having taken first place, Shakhtar U17 continued their tournament journey. The Miners defeated Parkland Soccer Club in a penalty shootout (4-2) in the Round of 32, claimed a convincing victory over Majestic FC A (3-0) in the Round of 16, and were more accurate than Academia Puerto Cabello in a penalty shootout in the quarter-final (3-2). However, right before the final, the Miners lost to Albion (2-4) in another penalty shootout and ended their performance at the semi-final stage, gaining invaluable international experience.
Volodymyr Samborskyi, head coach:
– Actually, there are not enough matches with similar dynamics, pace and speed in Ukraine, because at MICFootball all teams try to dictate their play: they press actively, act aggressively, and are unyielding in the fight. Therefore, the experience of participating in this tournament is invaluable. Despite being the youngest team in our age group, I think we achieved a good result, although we could have reached the final. The guys gave their all in every match and, most importantly, tried to impose their style of play.
Shakhtar U15
The Orange-Blacks, under the guidance of Oleksandr Ovchynnikov, completed the group stage of the competition with a 100 percent result, becoming triumphant.
Group stage
Shakhtar U15 6-0 CE Juncaria
Shakhtar U15 4-2 BIG Talent
Shakhtar U15 6-0 Voorschoten ’97
Play-offs
A successful performance in the group stage allowed the Pitmen to continue their fight in the play-offs of the competition. In the final round, the Orange-and-Blacks demonstrated a confident game and defeated Soccer + Guadeloupe (3-0) and TSF Academy Mlsnext (4-0), and they claimed a convincing victory over Arsenal London (3-0) in the match for a place in the semi-finals. The Pitmen met with Spanish Atletico In the semi-final, but this time the opponent was stronger (0-3), so Shakhtar U15 finished their performance at the semi-final stage.
Oleksandr Ovchynnikov, head coach:
– The team gained valuable experience, as this year’s MICFootball campaign attracted a record number of participants in the history of the tournament. We were able to compete with representatives from many countries, who demonstrated different styles and character of the game. The tournament was definitely beneficial, it was clear that the players were highly motivated, although at the same time they were nervous, so perhaps we lacked mental resilience a bit. Performances at such level were a strong push for the young players: they felt the necessary speed, intensity and scope of work, which will come in handy during upcoming matches in the DUFLU.
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