GOTHIA CUP 2026: MINERVA ACADEMY’S HISTORIC PERFORMANCE ROUTS OPPOSING TEAMS TO MAKE ROOM IN QUARTER-FINALS

Face2News/Chandigarh

In the prestigious tournament ‘Gothia Cup 2026′, known as the World Youth Cup, Indian football club Minerva Academy maintained its dominance and made a strong entry into the quarter-finals. In the tournament, Minerva Academy’s young players completely destroyed the opposing teams’ defense with their aggressive play and excellent coordination. Minerva Academy surprised the football world by scoring a total of 27 goals in its two knockout matches.

Rout of England’s club Prep School Lions Purple 10-1, hat-tricks for Paikhomba and Wangshem
In the Round-32 knockout match, Minerva Academy tightened its grip from the very beginning against England’s club Prep School Lions Purple and defeated the opposition team by a large margin of 10-1. From India’s side, star players Paikhomba and Wangshem scored brilliant hat-tricks in the match.

Paikhomba scored goals in the 2nd, 5th and 26th minutes of the match, while Wangshem scored back-to-back goals in the 26th minute and then in the 43rd minute to complete his hat-trick. Apart from these, Seiminsang scored in the 3rd minute, T. Kipgen in the 9th minute, and Potovei in the 16th minute for the team. In the 6th minute of the match, an own goal occurred due to pressure from England’s defense, which further strengthened Minerva’s lead. England’s team managed only one goal in the entire match and the Indian club registered a 10-1 victory.

Minerva eliminated France’s team by defeating them 17-1 in the pre-quarter-finals

In the pre-quarter-final match, Minerva Academy faced France’s strong club OFC Couronnes, but the Indian youths made the match completely one-sided, registering a 17-1 victory. In this match, Ngamba and Nongrem badly broke the opposition team’s defense, completing their respective hat-tricks. Ngamba scored goals in the 1st, 34th and 46th minutes, while Nongrem shook the net by scoring continuous goals in the 36th, 39th and 41st minutes. Other players of the team also scored goals. Aswin scored two goals in the 9th & 32nd minutes, Seiminsang in the 15th & 21st minutes and Nongdren in the 23rd & 31st minutes. T. Kipgen (1st minute), Potovei (12th minute), Haokip (26th minute), Wangshem (37th minute) and Korou (41st minute) each scored one goal, pushing the French team completely onto the back foot. The French team could not escape India’s ‘chakravyuh’ during the entire 50 minutes of the game and Minerva won the match 17-1.

Eyes on quarter-finals: By scoring a total of 27 goals in both these matches, Minerva Academy has rung the danger bell for the other teams of the tournament. Looking at the current form of the players, now Indian sports lovers hope that the team this time winning the ‘Gothia Cup 2026’ trophy will again register its name on the pages of history.