The Inter Miami CF Academy U-14 team continued progressing on their development by defeating the prestigious Juventus FC academy 1-0 in the quarterfinal of the Trophy bracket of the International Champions Cup Futures today.
Inter Miami set up with a starting XI of Angel Fernandez; Milo Parquet, David Montoya, Fernando Sanchez, Jose Escobar; Matteo Depalo, Axel Perez, Miles Perkovich; Wladimir Francis, Carlos Geffrard, and Nyle Waugh.
A hard fought first half saw both teams enter the break scoreless. Inter Miami broke through with the game’s only goal as a result of stunning 38th minute free kick from substitute Ezequiel Abadia-Reda. The forward curled a left-footed strike into the top left corner of the net from just outside of the box. The goal sealed the 1-0 victory for the Club.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the guys,” said U-14 Head Coach John Deeley. “There’s no question that it’s a great feeling to beat one of the elite clubs in all of world football.”
“I think that you can tell that even in a short period of time, the professional atmosphere has had an effect on the development of the individual and the group,” he added. “We have a long way to go, but we’ve hit a pretty good level where we can compete against a very high-level team.”
“We went out freely and played our game,” added midfielder Axel Perez. “The free kick was an amazing goal.”
The quarterfinal win moves the Club on to the semifinal of the Trophy bracket. Inter Miami’s future stars will continue their ICC Futures adventure on Sunday, December 15. The opponent and time of the game will be announced today.
“I think the win gives us a lot of forward momentum,” said midfielder Miles Perkovich. “Yesterday was an emotional day with the tough loss, but I think that we did very well to bounce back today.”
The Inter Miami Academy is comprised of 160 youth players from South Florida, playing across six age groups from 12 to 19. The U-14s, who are in the ICC Futures Tournament, have gone undefeated in U.S. Soccer Development Academy league play to this point.
The Academy is fully funded by the organization and aims to recruit and develop talented players, providing them with the best opportunities to continue advancing to the highest levels of the sport.
