Gothia Cup: Minerva Academy Roars into the Semifinals, Crushing Bolivia 8-0

Gothia Cup: Minerva Academy Roars into the Semifinals, Crushing Bolivia 8-0

Chandigarh 17 July ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : India's Minerva Academy FC continued its dominant run in the World Youth Cup (Gothia Cup 2026) with a sensational victory in the quarter-finals. In a completely one-sided encounter, the Indian club routed the Bolivian side 'Cancheritos Football Club' by a massive 8-0 margin to secure their spot in the tournament's semifinals. Right from the opening minute, Minerva Academy’s players maintained a highly aggressive stance, giving the opposition no room to stage a comeback. The forward line displayed exceptional coordination, with T. Kipgen opening the account for the team in the 8th minute and following it up with his second goal in the 48th minute. Nongrem scored two brilliant goals in the 9th and 43rd minutes, while Donald netted the team's third goal in the 19th minute. Haokip pushed Bolivia completely onto the backfoot by scoring two back-to-back goals in the 21st minute and during the first-half injury time (25+1'). Paikhomba further extended the lead by scoring a spectacular field goal in the 22nd minute.

While Minerva Academy's forwards rained goals, the defenders and goalkeeper remained alert throughout the match, denying the Bolivian team a single goal. The Indian team had firmly seized control of the game by halftime and maintained their grip in the second half. With this emphatic 8-0 victory, Minerva Academy has taken a strong step toward the title clash, and their eyes will now be set on securing a ticket to the final in the semifinals. Previously, two other matches were played.

In the Round-of-32 knockout clash, Minerva Academy dominated England’s Prep School Lions Purple from the whistle, defeating them by a massive 10-1 margin. Star players Paikhomba and Wangshem scored brilliant hat-tricks for India. Paikhomba scored in the 2nd, 5th, and 26th minutes, while Wangshem completed his hat-trick with back-to-back goals in the 26th and 43rd minutes. Additionally, Seiminsang scored in the 3rd minute, T. Kipgen in the 9th minute, and Potovei in the 16th minute. An own goal by the under-pressure English defense in the 6th minute further extended Minerva's lead. England could only pull back one goal as the Indian club wrapped up the 10-1 win.

In the pre-quarterfinal match, Minerva Academy faced a strong French side, OFC Couronnes. However, the Indian youngsters turned it into a completely one-sided affair, winning 17-1. Ngamba and Nongrem tore through the opposition defense to score hat-tricks; Ngamba scored in the 1st, 34th, and 46th minutes, while Nongrem struck in the 36th, 39th, and 41st minutes. Other contributors to the scoreboard included Aswin, Seiminsang, and Nongdren, who each scored two goals. T. Kipgen, Potovei, Haokip, Wangshem, and Korou also chipped in with one goal each to push the French team completely onto the backfoot. The French team failed to break through India's tactical setup throughout the 50-minute game, resulting in a dominant 17-1 victory for Minerva.