As with previous years, the FC Bayern World Squad's journey ended with the match against the German record champions' U19 side. The international XI went down 3-0 to the Munich youngsters in Unterhaching, with Jason Eckl's penalty (27'), Luis Schäfer (49') and David Santos Daiber (88') scoring the goals for the U19s.
"The World Squad is a flagship project in international youth football, which tries to pave the way into professional football for players from all over the world," said Jochen Sauer, director of youth development and the Campus at FC Bayern. "We've discovered and promoted one or two interesting talents through it over recent years, and there are players with potential in the current squad too. I'm pleased about the positive development of the project and the good cooperation with our extremely successful youth development at the Campus."
Penalty breaks deadlock
The FC Bayern youth team set the pace from the start and put the World Squad defence under pressure. Oluwaseyi Wilson created the first chance of the game with a precise pass to Felipe Chávez, but goalkeeper Luis Patricio Gomez was on hand. Wilson had a go himself with a long-range effort two minutes later, which was deflected onto the crossbar. Head coach Roy Makaay's charges threatened for the first time through a counter in the 16th minute, but James Lackay was stopped by defender Schäfer. World Squad captain Gyeong-Bin Mo then conceded a penalty, which Eckl converted into the right corner to make it 1-0 to the U19s. However, the international XI weren't unsettled and fashioned the next chance two minutes later, Luis Ibarra getting away down the right flank and crossing into the middle to Dabrowski, whose finish was blocked. At the other end, Mudaser Sadat had an effort from distance which narrowly missed the target as the first half ended 1-0.
Bayern youngsters dominate second half
Bayern U19 coach Peter Gaydarov made several substitutions for the second half, while the World Squad came out unchanged after the break. The U19s had the first chance from a free kick soon after the restart, and although Luis Gomez made a strong initial save, he couldn't do anything about the rebound from Schäfer, who made it 2-0. Chances dried up for a while after that, before Lackay dragged the ball just wide of the far post on 73 minutes – the World Squad's best chance of the entire match. Shortly before full time, the German record champions' U19s came forward again. From a goal kick, Tim Binder won the ball and marched through alone before laying off for Daiber, who slotted in the third goal.
Makaay: U19s deserved to win
"The boys gave everything today but in the end, the U19s deserved to win," summarised Makaay. "We were able to match them for spells and had a big chance through James in the second half. Overall, though, the U19s were the stronger team."
Gaydarov: Both teams played well
Gaydarov, meanwhile, praised the World Squad: "My team deserved to win, but overall both teams played well today. We had more possession but the World Squad were a constant threat on the counter. I already knew some of the players of the Class of '24 from video clips, and today confirmed that there are some promising talents in there."
After last year's 1-0 defeat, the Bayern U19s were able to prevail over the World Squad again this year in the fourth encounter between the two youth teams. The sides drew 1-1 in their maiden clash in 2021, followed by a 4-0 defeat for the World Squad at the Allianz Arena in 2022.
The Class of '24's whole journey, from the first training session through the time in the USA to the game against the Bayern U19s, was again documented live. Watch all the episodes released to date here.
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