LFI played some stunning football in the inaugural edition to claim both the Under-14 and Under-16 titles, and the reigning champions have looked just as good this time around. Both teams have qualified for the knockout stages top of their respective pools and Deswarte is not  hiding his ambitions for the tournament.

“We are already thinking of the double-double,” said the coach.

“We want both teams to do this, but I try to watch other games in Dubai. It could be, but I don’t know the other teams in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, so I can’t predict.

“We will try to do our best. It’s always more difficult because all the teams know we won so they wait for us, there’s no surprise for them.

“In one game you never know what happens. One shot and one goal can decide it.”

LFI’s U-16 team strolled into the final last year, where they faced their only real test. They beat Delhi Private School 2-1, although they were always fairly comfortable.

Where Deswarte feels his side enjoy the upper hand over most of their opponents is how long the side have been together. His U-16s have been playing together since they were 10-years-old.

“We are very strong and we are hard to beat,” he said. “We have trained together for a long time. The U-16 team, I have had those players for six years now.

“We started when they were 10, now they are 15 or 16, so they know everything; the philosophy I want to develop and they do well. The team bond is the strength.”