Manchester City youngsters are representing their countries in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship and
Spain U19 defender Eric Garcia is among them.
The 18-year-old is currently on international duty in Armenia. His side have reached the final of the Euro U19 after a 0-0 draw in the main time and then a penalty shoot-out win against France in the semi-final played in hot weather conditions when the temperature was 38C in Yerevan.
The shout-out win will lead Garcia’s side to the final where they are set to meet Portugal.
“
It was a tough game. They have some psychical players. I think we deserved to win before the penalties,” said Garcia, in an exclusive interview with
Vbetnews.
Portugal beat the Republic of Ireland with the score of 4-0 and now the two sides will face each other for the second time in the tournament after they held a 1-1 draw in the Group stage game.
“
We expect a similar game after the first match we played them. We need to try to avoid them to have the ball. We need to be focused from the beginning,” the 18-year-old explained.
Garcia liked Armenia and the organization of the tournament but while he is in Armenia – in the crossroad of Europe and Asia, his club- Manchester City are on a pre-season tour in Asia. Manchester City youngster is hopeful that Pep Guardiola has time to follow his game.
Image Source: Getty Images
“
They are playing in the same days we have games so maybe after the game he has watched the highlights. I tried to play well in every game,” said Garcia.
The Spaniard joined Guardiola in
Manchester from the Barcelona academy last summer. The central defender shone on City’s tour to America and has developed himself as one of the best youngsters. He made his first-team breakthrough in Carabao Cup quarterfinal win at Leicester in December.
Garcia said, it’s good for young players to have an opportunity to play and train alongside football stars: “
It’s really good to train. When I started to train with Guardiola, he gave me a lot of confidence.”
“The good feeling is that his mind is 100 per cent and 24 hours a day focused on football,” Garcia added while speaking about his manager.
The centre-back is looking forward to being part of Manchester City’s first team and win trophies with the Citizens: “
They won the Premier League in last two years and we hope that this season they will win it again.”
Guardiola should find time to watch the EURO U19 final between Spain U19 and Portugal U19 on Saturday, July 27 as two Manchester City players Eric Garcia and
Felix Correia will again face each other.
Author-Alla Zakaryan
