Strikers U-19 Team To Face World’s Best in Annual Chinese Youth Tournament

Photo credit: Jon van Woerden

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers are headed back to China, this time in the form of an under-19 team to participate in the annual Weifang Cup tournament alongside the likes of Real Madrid, Shandong Luneng, and S.L. Benfica.

The Weifang Cup is held annually in the Shandong province of China. Strikers U-19 is the first team from the United States to take part in the prestigious annual youth tournament. 

Strikers U-19 will go up against German heavyweights VfL Wolfsburg in their first match on Sunday, July 24. Chinese side Shandong Luneng will take on Fort Lauderdale in a nationally televised game the following day. In their final group stage match, Strikers U-19 goes up against Japanese side Kashima Antlers on Wednesday, July 27.

Real Madrid, S.L. Benfica, Desportivo Brasil, and the Chinese national team round out the other group. Strikers U-19 will have an opportunity to face these teams in the knockout stages. The 45,000-seat Weifang Olympic Sports Center Stadium will host the final match on June 30.

As part of the Strikers partnership with Southern California Sports Club (SoCalSC), the technical staff of the team, and a number of Strikers U-19 players that will be traveling to China, come from the California-based club.

Samuel Bernabe will coach Strikers U-19 during the Weifang Cup. His technical staff includes assistant coach Thales Villela Peterson, goalkeepers coach Zaky Ali Abdelbaset, and fitness coach Mario Mejia.

SoCalSC’s 17-field San Bernardino Soccer Complex (SBSC) has been utilized as a training camp for Strikers U-19 prior to the Weifang Cup.

The team will be traveling with the following roster: