In Nyon, where the UEFA Friendship Cup brings together youth teams from several continents, Spain’s Under-18 side began its Swiss week with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast. The tournament is part of David Cubillo’s preparation for the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar, scheduled from 19 November to 13 December, despite the squad now being classified as Under-18 within UEFA’s seasonal structure.
Barcelona’s Roberto Tomás made the decisive contribution after arriving from the bench in the 69th minute. The attacking midfielder, recently used more often as a central midfielder, supplied the pass for Eloi Gómez to score Spain’s winning goal. Gómez is now with Ajax but developed at Barcelona’s La Masia academy.
Six Barcelona players were called into the Spanish group. Michal Zuk started in midfield and was replaced in the 69th minute, while winger Iu Martínez began the match and came off after 58 minutes. Left-back Jordi Pesquer entered at half-time, Tomás followed in the 69th minute and right-back Raúl Expósito was introduced in the 86th. Left-sided centre-back Baba Kourouma did not play.
Spain are without two regular members of this generation through injury: centre-back Sergi Mayans and midfielder Ebrima Tunkara. Both are expected to return for the final World Cup squad. The Qatar competition chiefly concerns players born in 2009. FIFA retains the Under-17 designation for that birth year, while UEFA and the national federation have considered the group Under-18 since 1 July.
Brazil and Canada await in Nyon
Victory over Ivory Coast puts Spain into their remaining Group B fixtures against Brazil on 27 September at 18:00 and Canada on 30 September at 17:00. The final placement in the group will determine their subsequent opponent, with each side facing the team that finishes in the corresponding position in Group A.
That other section contains Egypt, South Korea, England and Colombia, giving Cubillo’s side a compact but demanding international test before attention turns towards Qatar.
