Congratulations to Chido Obi, who has received the ‘Special Award’ at the prestigious Maurice Revello Tournament in Toulon, France.
The young Manchester United forward contributed two goals and an assist for Denmark’s Under-20 side as they finished third.
Playing against opponents older than him, he made an assist in the opening game against Mexico — a 3-3 draw — before netting against both Congo and Japan.
Against the former, he wrapped up a 2-0 victory late on with a right-footed drive from outside the box. His goal against Japan was scruffier, but the result of good pressing in the opposition’s box. That opened the scoring in a 3-0 win.
Chido’s side suffered semi-final defeat to Saudi Arabia’s Under-23s outfit, who were then beaten by hosts France in the final.
After Denmark triumphed 2-1 over Mexico in the 3rd-place play-off, Chido was presented with the ‘special prize’, an award given out in addition to the Player of the Tournament, which was won by France’s Steve Ngoura.
Obi follows some of his team-mates in impressing in Toulon. Alejandro Garnacho starred for Argentina in the 2022 edition, and received ‘Revelation of the Tournament’, while new signing Matheus Cunha was Player of the Tournament in 2019. Back in 2014, Bruno Fernandes represented Portugal, while playing for Udinese.
Sekou Kone, meanwhile, performed well for Mali in this year’s group stages, before the African nation were unfortunately knocked out on goal difference.
Both Obi and Kone were involved in our post-season tour of Asia, with Chido netting his first senior goals in United red in the 3-1 victory over Hong Kong, China in late May.
That followed a strong first season at United, with the ex-Arsenal striker making his first steps at the club with our Under-18s side, for whom he netted a hat-trick within 14 minutes on his first start. Steady progress with the guidance of United’s Academy coaches from there helped him to thrive in the FA Youth Cup, where he scored seven goals in three games. That earned him a senior debut by mid-February, when he came off the bench to feature in our Premier League defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
He made a total of eight competitive appearances by the season’s end, plus two friendlies in Asia. This experience with Denmark was the final addition to an excellent season of development for the 17-year-old. Well done, Chido!