Ludogorets U15 delivers strong performance at International tournament

Ludogorets U15 put on a strong showing at a prestigious international tournament in Thessaloniki, which featured dozens of teams from across Europe. At the end of the matches, the boys, led by Svetlin Ivanov and Ivan Tsvetanov, finished in eighth place out of a total of 16 contenders, landing in the golden middle of the highly competitive event.

On the final tournament day, held Sunday, the young "Eagles" narrowly lost 0–1 to Partizan (Belgrade) in the match determining 5th to 8th place. In a clash against Swiss side Brommapojkarna, Ludogorets’ youth demonstrated better play than their opponents, who compete at the highest level in their home country. Despite creating numerous scoring chances, the match ended in a 0–0 draw. In the penalty shootout, they were edged out 3–4.

Another battle followed to determine seventh and eighth place. The boys from Razgrad faced Oxford from England. After taking the lead, they conceded an equalizer, and once again the outcome was decided by penalties. This time, the young Eagles lost 5–6.

“We needed a bit more luck to place higher. The tournament was extremely valuable, as the boys faced strong European teams. The pitches and overall organization were top-level,” commented Svetlin Ivanov after the competition.

Teams from Serbia, Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, and Germany also took part in the tournament. Ludogorets U15 reached the final stage after defeating Dutch side Vitesse 1–0 and local teams PAOK Colin Kozani and Makedonikos, 1–0 and 2–0 respectively. They then lost 0–1 to Germany’s Bochum and recorded a 1–1 draw with Oxford.