Fandi's boys stopped in semi-finals

F-17 Academy's brave run in the Gothia Cup Under-11 category ended in the semi-finals, where they lost 3-0 to Estonian side TJK Legion Tallinn yesterday.

Run by legendary forward Fandi Ahmad, the F-17 Academy had stormed to the final four after seeing off France's FC Franconville PB 5-1, Austria's USK Leube Anif 3-2, England's South Central FC 7-3, and Sweden's IFK Gothenborg 9-1 in the earlier rounds held on Wednesday and Thursday in Sweden.

During the competition that's been dubbed the Youth World Cup for its scale - around 1,600 teams from 80 nations across 16 categories - F-17 Academy's forwards Ilhan Fandi Ahmad and Marc Ryan Tan, sons of former internationals Fandi and Steven Tan, shone by grabbing a combined total of 28 goals in seven matches.

However, the final proved to be a bridge too far for the boys, who failed to score in yesterday's semi-final.

- DAVID LEE

This article was first published on July 19, 2014.
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