Minerva Academy's U-12 Boys Retain Gothia Cup Title With Win Over Brazil

Minerva Academy's Under-12 boys are Gothia Cup champions again. The Chandigarh-based side beat Brazil's RS Sports Yellow 2-1 in the World Youth Cup final on July 18, defending the title they won last year.

Thangsanglen Kipgen put Minerva ahead first, before the Brazilian side hit back with an equaliser. Mekhamkhraw Nongrem then struck a free-kick winner to seal the match. Kipgen was named the final's best player.

Kipgen was the standout performer of the whole campaign, not just the final. He once scored six goals in a single group-stage match. Minerva ran up huge scorelines throughout the tournament, including a 13-1 win and a 12-0 win, on their way to the final.

The win caps off a huge few weeks for the academy. Minerva had already won the Helsinki Cup in Finland earlier this month, their first-ever title there. Winning both tournaments back to back gives them what's being called a European double.

Gothia Cup is the world's biggest youth football tournament, drawing well over a thousand teams from across the globe every year. Minerva first won it in 2023, beating a Brazilian side in that final too, and have now added a second title on top of it.

The result adds to a strong recent run for the academy, which also picked up the Sub Junior League title back home in 2024 and has produced players who've gone on to trials with clubs abroad.