United youngsters run riot in tournament in Germany without Darren Fletcher, but this 16-yo wizard stole the show

Manchester United Under-19s are back at the REWE Junior Cup in Germany this weekend. United have long been attendees of the five-a-side indoor tournament that takes place every January in Göttingen. With Darren Fletcher acting as interim manager for the first team, Colin Little leads the coaching staff for the trip. Albert Mills captains United for the weekend, having taken part in the tournament in both 2024 and 2025. The young Red Devils opened the tournament with two matches on Friday night against VfR Dostluk Osterode and Austria Wien, which set the tone for their group stage campaign. VfR Dostluk Osterode United took the lead within seconds through Junior Brown after he stole the ball from the keeper in what the commentator thought may have been the quickest goal ever seen at the tournament. Yuel Helafu then set up Rafe McCormack for United’s second. It is McCormack’s third time at the event as well, having first impressed in 2024 as an Under-15 player. Brown was United’s most lively player, as his quick dribbling suited the small spaces on the pitch, and he soon added his second of the match. Up against a local amateur side, it was an easy match-up for United as Sam O’Brien, Noah Ajayi, Helafu and Louie Bradbury added further goals for a 7-0 win, getting close to some of the senior’s sides most resounding victories.  Austria Wien United then took on Austria Wien, who proved to be a much tougher test, as would have been expected with the professional Austrian clubs always performing well in the tournament. Austria Wien opened the scoring through Canadian youth international Silas Schoppitsch after a scramble on the United goal line. The Austrian side’s tactic of playing a sweeper keeper—the act of playing an outfielder as a keeper when in possession—proved effective. Midfielder Bruno Jerabek lined up as the keeper and scored twice from the halfway line, with Cameron Byrne-Hughes’ sight blocked on both occasions to earn a 3-0 victory for Austria Wien. United continue on Saturday to round out the first group stage with matches against Fortuna Düsseldorf and three more local amateur clubs. Statistics United squad: Byrne-Hughes, Hardy, Helafu, J. Watson, McCormack, Mills, McEvoy, Brown, Ajayi, O’Brien, Bradbury REWE Junior Cup Scorers – Day 1 PlayerNumber of Goals Junior Brown2 Rafe McCormack1 Sam O’Brien1 Noah Ajayi1 Yuel Helafu1 Louie Bradbury1 Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Colm Murphy A football obsessed Canadian who moved to England to enjoy the beautiful game. Colm has been keen follower of Manchester United’s famed academy since seeing a fresh faced Adnan Januzaj for the club’s u18s and has been writing about football with a focus on youth development for over 10 years. You can follow him X: RedYouthUnited.