Diyar lost all three matches on the opening day, scoring just two goals and shipping 22 in the process. Wilks, however, claims his charges are desperate to get back into practice this week, and are looking forward to this weekend’s fixtures.

“The boys loved it,” said Wilks. “They were a bit disappointed with how they played. I put a very young team in but they’re begging to get back into it. They can’t wait to get back to training next week, they said it was brilliant.”

Diyar prop up the U-14’s table and are unlikely to progress to the knockout stages, but Wilks insists exposing his players to new tournaments and teams will be of huge benefit to them.

He said: “I think their old PE teachers basically gave them a ball and told them to go and play so it’s a steep learning curve, but it can only get better. It’s great to see what the other schools and players are like. They’ll learn quicker that way.”

Mohamed Hazem, meanwhile, was the undoubted star in Fujairah as he scored nine goals in two games for Our Own English High School.