AFC Ajax U17 will face Go Ahead Eagles U17 in the semi-final of the cup competition. The match will take place in De Adelaarshorst. Coach Jip Ellenbroek looks ahead to the match. "Saturday 23 August 2025. The day our season officially started. We kicked off with a cup match against Achilles Enschede U17 and convincingly qualified for the next round with a 0-5 win. On the same evening, we left with players and staff for a hotel in Bielefeld, where we prepared for the next day. There, we played a friendly match against Arminia Bielefeld U16, where the players who had not started the day before played a full match. In the evening, we came together as a group and talked about our goals for the season. One goal stood out immediately: reaching the cup final. Something that has never been achieved before within the Go Ahead Eagles Youth Academy. This group had already expressed the ambition to achieve something special together. More than half a year later, we are where we wanted to be. After wins against RKAV Volendam U17 (10-2), Spartaan’20 U17 (2-0) and NAC Breda U17 (2-0), we have qualified for the semi-final. There, we will face an absolute top opponent: AFC Ajax U17. Ajax has an impressive cup competition behind them, with wins against Feyenoord U17 (3-1), FC Utrecht U17 (7-1) and AZ U17 (6-0). They also recently participated in the Future Cup, where they achieved impressive wins against Sporting Portugal U17 and Paris Saint-Germain U17, before being narrowly eliminated by Real Madrid U17. That we get to play this semi-final in De Adelaarshorst, in front of so many spectators, makes it even more special. For players and staff, this is a unique experience that we are looking forward to enormously. Of course, there are many things around this match that are different from normal, but one thing remains the same: our team goal. This player group is complete, looks fresh and is full of energy. In matches like these, they can play as a tight team, where boys can also hopefully make a difference and shine individually. On behalf of the entire U17 team, we wish everyone a fantastic evening. Let's make an evening of it that we won't soon forget."