By Tom Burton
Kinetic U16s will face teams from Norway, Sweden, and the second-smallest country in Africa at the Gothia Cup.
The groups were announced this week ahead of the international youth tournament which kicks off on July 17.
Kinetic, returning to Sweden for the fourth year in a row, have been drawn in Group 3 with AIK FF (Sweden), Hif/Stein HFK (Norway), and Sporting Clube de Sao Tome, from São Tomé and Príncipe.
In 2014, Kinetic came home with a trophy when the U18s won the B-finals. And U16s manager Adam Knight thinks the current crop have what it takes.
“We’re looking strong,” Knight said. “I’ve got high expectations for this group and considering the Dallas Cup didn’t go as well as we were hoping, I know the boys are keen to put that right.
“The draw seems alright, we’re looking forward to it. It’s always fascinating to face clubs from different countries.
“Our players gain a lot of experience but the coaches do too – we get to see how management from other cultures approach matches like this.”
The 2016 Gothia Cup will be the 44th year of the annual competition, which has featured the likes of Andrea Pirlo (1990), Xabi Alonso (1995) and Emmanuel Adebayor (1999).
Alan Shearer played in the 1985 version of the tournament and at the 1994 World Cup, eight of Bolivia’s players played at the Gothia Cup in the 1980s.
Last year, Kinetic’s U15s and U16s reached the round of 16 and were only beaten by eventual finalists.
The U15s, led by James Fotheringham, were the last English side standing.
They saw off sides from Italy, Sweden and Argentina before going down 3-0 to the eventual winners from Spain, Inter Vista Alegre.
Knight’s U16s topped their group, scoring 13 goals in the process, and beat Bromley Juniors 3-1 in the last 32.
But they also lost 3-0 in the round of 16, to Swedish side Hammarby who were beaten by Tokyo Verdy in the final.
The U17s, managed by Harry Hudson, were in the group of death for the invitational tournament but battled through to a 19th place finish overall.