The 2019 Generation adidas Cup field is set.
MLS announced the complete details for the 2019 GA Cup on Tuesday including the participating international clubs and the full schedule of matches set to unfold throughout the tournament. Clubs from 14 different countries will convene at the Toyota Soccer Center at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas from April 13-20 in a tournament featuring elite professional club academies from North America. The international clubs are highlighted by French club Olympique Lyonnais and Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb, with both competing in the U-17 Champions Division, the top division at GA Cup, against some of the best from MLS.
As of October 2018, there were 35 academy products from Lyon on rosters of teams from the Big 5 European leagues (EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1). That total was good for the second most among all clubs. Real Madrid star Karim Benzema, Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette and Nabil Fekir are all products of the Lyon academy.
At the same time, Dinamo Zagreb had 66 academy products in the 31 top European divisions. That was good for the fourth most. World Cup finalists Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Dejan Lovren were all products of the academy. Of the 46 players on rosters for the two World Cup finalists — France and Croatia — 13 came from one of the two academies.
Joining them in the tournament will be Uruguayan powerhouse Peñarol, Spain's Valencia and West Ham United from the English Premier League. Two winners of the tournament, River Plate and Flamengo, return for the 2019 competition.
The newly formed U-15 tournament between MLS and Liga MX clubs is the latest competitive initiative in the collaboration between the two leagues, following in the footsteps of the Campeones Cup and the MLS Homegrown Game team annually facing a Liga MX U-20 team. Chivas de Guadalajara, Club Leon, Cruz Azul and Monterrey will each face the four MLS sides once, setting up an exciting fifth and final matchup pitting the first-place Liga MX side against the top MLS club in a winner-take-all showdown.
