Barcelona Sub-13 roar back to reach Futures quarter-finals

Barcelona’s final group match at La Liga FC Futures carried a straightforward requirement: win by two goals to keep the Sub-13 side’s campaign alive. The Blaugranes delivered more than that, beating Villarreal 4-1 in Orlando as Destiny scored a hat-trick in the second period and secured a quarter-final meeting with Atlético de Madrid, according to SPORT’s match report published on Saturday, 3 October.

The result came after Barcelona had taken only one point from its first two games, with one defeat and one draw leaving the team under pressure. The academy side had little margin for error, and its response turned a difficult final group fixture into a convincing win.

Villarreal struck first in the second minute, when David scored to leave Barcelona virtually out of contention for the quarter-finals. Hugo Galdeano was at the centre of the Catalans’ attacking play, but Josep Curto eventually broke through to level the match and give Barça a way back into the contest.

Destiny then took charge. The centre-forward scored three times in a standout second period, with SPORT describing one finish as being in the style of Ronaldo Nazario. He added another after a pass from Hugo, whose combination with the striker continued to trouble Villarreal.

Barcelona had already done enough to meet the required two-goal margin, but kept pushing for more. Destiny completed the 4-1 scoreline in the final play of the match, sealing a result that had looked far from certain after David’s early opener.

The qualification picture had depended on both Barcelona’s result and the earlier Sevilla-Betis match. SPORT reported that a draw between those sides would have eliminated Barça before its final group game; instead, Jesús Heredia’s goal for Sevilla left the Catalans needing a two-goal victory over Villarreal.

That margin is now behind them, and Atlético de Madrid is next in the knockout stage. SPORT listed the quarter-final for 17:00 local time in the United States, or 23:00 in Spain. Destiny’s three goals changed the immediate outlook for the Sub-13 team; the next challenge will test whether Barcelona can carry that attacking momentum into the quarter-final.