Celtic’s Under-15 squad also have a lot to be proud of, finishing second in their Showcase group and winning their last match against Minnesota United FC 5-1, also coping particularly well in a hotel full of other academy teams from England, Spain, Portugal and South America.

U15 manager, Michael O’Halloran said the trip has been a worthwhile challenge for the younger boys, and in football terms the team did “really well.”

“It’s always an experience for them and a challenge for them to come to a different country sampling another style of football,” he said.

“A lot of the American teams have been quite physical, so they had to withstand that. We tried to work out a way of how to play the game and match them physically.”

Coming through the pandemic, the trip has given the boys and Academy staff some excitement and has whetted the appetite again for tournament football, according to O’Halloran.

He added: “It's been more than two, almost three years since we went to a tournament anywhere, let alone travelling on a 10-hour flight and coming to Dallas.

“We're just a quarter way through our season - this has helped to build up momentum and back home we can take and use the experiences that they've learned from this trip.”

It was the MLS academies who came out on top for both age groups at the tournament in Frisco, Texas. Seattle Sounders beat Tigres 2-0 in the U17 tournament and Portland Timbers claimed a 2-0 triumph over Valencia FC 2-0 in the U15 final.

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Texas Trip: Academy returns home from Generation adidas Cup on a high