Southampton: Saints Under-23s set for cup semi-final at St Mary’s
By Marc Walker
Southampton Under-23s have learnt the date of their Premier League International Cup semi-final that will be played at St Mary’s.
Radhi Jaidi’s side will host Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb on April 10th after overcoming Villarreal last Wednesday to progress to this stage.
The Saints youngsters are unbeaten in the competition so far and will be hoping to reach the final.
They beat Zagreb in the group-stage 1-0 and added a further victory against West Ham, whilst a draw with last year’s winners Porto also came.
Another win over Zagreb in the final four would see them face either Reading or Bayern Munich in the title decider.
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Participation in this competition has been a real step forward for the Under-23s and puts them up against some of Europe and England’s top academy sides.
The format sees 12 elite academies from England and 12 European sides put together into six groups of four teams.
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Six group winners and the two best runners-up advance to the quarter-finals to contest the knockout stages. All games are played in England because of it being a tournament run by the Premier League.
The English sides involved this season were Saints, West Ham, Brighton, Derby County, Everton, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Norwich, Reading, Swansea and Spurs.
They had some illustrious company in Athletic Bilbao, Bayern Munich, Benfica, Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord, Hertha Berlin, Paris Saint-Germain, PSV Eindhoven, Porto, Sparta Prague, Villarreal and Wolfsburg.
It looks like being a successful season all round for the Under-23s after some impressive league form too.
They currently sit in second place in their Premier League 2 Division two with just three games left to play.
After the disappointment of relegation last campaign, Jaidi and his men are on course to bounce back at the first attempt.
More success has also been seen in the development of players too. Players such as Yan Valery and Michael Obafemi have made the step up to the first-team permanently, whilst other like Callum Slattery, Tyreke Johnson and Kayne Ramsay have all made senior appearances.