India’s Minerva Academy defends World Youth Cup, complete European double
India’s Minerva Academy Under-12 boys added another major international title to their growing collection as they successfully defended the Gothia Cup after beating Brazil’s RS Sports Yellow 2-1 in a thrilling final. The triumph comes less than a week after the Chandigarh-based academy finally got their hands on the Helsinki Cup, capping another memorable European tour.
If winning the Helsinki Cup ended up being unfinished business from last year, the Gothia Cup was about proving they belong at the top. Against another strong international field, Minerva once again showed why it has become one of the most respected youth academies outside of Europe.
Kipgen Thangsanglen put Minerva in front before Mekhamkhraw Nongrem restored their advantage with a superb free-kick after the Brazilian side equalised. The youngsters then held firm to secure their second consecutive Gothia Cup crown.
The latest success continues a remarkable run for the academy, who have spent the last two summers hitting the headlines across Europe with a string of dominant performances and trophy-winning campaigns.
MINERVA YOUTH WORLD CUP RUN
Minerva hardly slowed down during the tournament, scoring freely from the group stage before overcoming their toughest challenge in the knockout rounds.
Group stage
They beat Prep Schools Pumas Blue (England) 12-0
They beat Lillestrom SK 3 (Norway) 13-1
Beat Surte IS FK (Sweden) 16-0
Round 64
Beat Legacy Academy (Kenya) 6-2
Round 32
Beat Prep Schools Lions (England) 10-1
16th round
They beat OFC Couronnes (France) 17-1
Quarterfinal
They beat Cancheritos FC (Bolivia) 8-0
Semifinal
They defeated FC Lokomotiv Kyiv (Ukraine) 3:2
Final
Beat RS Sports Yellow (Brazil) 2-1
The only real scare came in the semi-final against FC Lokomotiv Kyiv, but Minerva found a different gear when it mattered most before finishing the job against their Brazilian title rivals. Photo: Minvera/Instagram
EUROPEAN DOMINANCE CONTINUES
The Gothia Cup title has a special meaning because Minerva came to Sweden as the defending champions.
Rather than being burdened by this expectation, they embraced it. The academy retained one of the world’s biggest youth football trophies just days after they definitively captured the Helsinki Cup, where they lost in last year’s final.
The back-to-back titles add to an extraordinary spell in Europe that already includes Norwegian Cup and Dana Cup triumphs, while their 6-0 victory over Liverpool Under-15s in the Mediterranean International Cup earlier this year underlined the level this group is consistently reaching.
What once seemed like isolated disturbances is now becoming a pattern. Wherever Minerva has traveled in Europe over the past two years, she has returned with performances – and more and more trophies – that continue to raise the bar for Indian youth football.
– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
18 Jul 2026 17:24 IST