Celtic’s U17s are through to the final 16 of the Generation adidas Cup after finishing top of their group in Dallas, Texas.

The Academy side were unbeaten in their group, winning their first match against Atlanta United FC on penalties, and then defeating New England Revolution (2-1) and FC Cincinnati (2-0).

Having beaten all three of the MLS sides in the group, the Scottish team will face Columbus Crew on Wednesday (April 13) 5pm local time in the hope of reaching the quarter-finals.

And manager Stuart McLaren said the bhoys are doing themselves and the club proud.

“The lads have really impressed me in terms of resilience,” he said, “That’s part of the beauty in terms of the development. Coming to tournaments like this they have to handle travel, the time difference and the really hot conditions, and play effectively against the home teams.”

Managing to come back from a 1-0 deficit in their opening game to equalise and win through penalties, McLaren said tournaments come down to certain moments.

“The whole mood shifts," he said. "They’ve been terrific and have developed a real togetherness, which is obviously key as well.

“The boys set themselves an objective of going as far into this tournament as they possibly can and try and win it obviously - that’s the real aim. What they’ve done so far has given them that chance.”

UNDER-15s

The Celtic U15s head into their second showcase match against Nashville SC on Thursday – 9am local time - after a rest day visiting some Dallas landmarks, having has some strong performances in the group stages. The young boys coped well in the high temperatures against some very good American.

However, their most recent match on Tuesday evening against Philadelphia Union was abandoned due to bad weather conditions.

You can view the latest results and standings here:

U17s Results and Standings

U15s Results and Standings

Follow the Celts

You can keep up to date with the young Hoops’ progress in America with daily updates on Celticfc.com and the Academy’s twitter @CelticFCAcademy.

Celtic U17s through to final 16 of Generation adidas Cup in Texas