A big occasion awaits Nice’s youth side, as the U18s will play in the Coupe Gambardella Round of 16 on Sunday in Guingamp. Here are 10 things to know about this major challenge in Brittany.

3rd professional club in 4 matches for Nice

After knocking out Grasse, Marseille and Monaco in the previous rounds, Le Gym will face its third consecutive academy team from a professional club. It will also be their third straight away match, following trips to the perfume capital and to La Turbie.

• Round 1: Grasse 0–2 Nice

• Round of 32: Nice 1–1 Marseille (5–3 on penalties)

 

• Round of 16: Monaco 0–1 Nice

The match will be played at the Roudourou…

Last season’s squad experienced the Roazhon Park in the quarter-finals (1–1, 4–2 defeat on penalties). This time, they will play at the Roudourou, the historic home of En Avant, hoping this stage is just another step in a long journey.

A small peculiarity: Guingamp will play its first Gambardella home match in six years.

They know the feeling

Several members of the current squad experienced the adrenaline of a Gambardella Round of 16 last season: Matys Youst, Djibril Coulibaly, Djelan Morana, Yassine Aïche, Jah Mason Telusson and Zinedine Hasni.

The young Aiglons successfully handled an away trip to Torcy at that stage.

 

Matys Youst, Djibril Coulibaly, Jah Mason Telusson, Yassine Aïche and Zinedine Hasni also featured in the quarter-final.

How many academy graduates turned pros can be in the squad?

During the 2025–26 season, 11 academy players made their professional debuts: Djibril Coulibaly, Hamza Koutoune (loaned to Annecy this summer), Zoumana Diallo, Everton, Brad Mantsounga, Kaïl Boudache, Millan Brignone, Mousslim Youssouf and Kéfren Ali.

As the Coupe Gambardella is open to players born in 2008, 2009 and 2010, only one of them is eligible to be included in the squad: Djibril Coulibaly (born November 18, 2008).

Svanidze: The link

Born March 12, 2009 in Tbilisi, Georgia, Andria Svanidze joined Le Gym’s academy this summer. The striker, who has scored 11 goals this season (mainly with the club’s U17s), previously played at Guingamp before crossing France to settle on the Côte d’Azur.

Three days on the road

The young Aiglons will embark on a three-day trip, which is longer than usual, and will train in Brittany the day before the match. The staff aims to get them in the best possible conditions ahead of this important fixture.

The departure for Brittany is scheduled for Friday at midday.

Reshuffled staff

Academy director Julien Sablé joined the first team’s coaching staff following Claude Puel’s return, serving as assistant coach. Still overseeing the academy alongside Fabien Caballero, the former Nice captain was on the U18 bench in Grasse at the start of the campaign. Raphaël Cosmidis has since taken over, supported by all the red-and-black youth coaches.

Guingamp’s run

Here is the run of Jonathan Dru’s team in the competition:

• Round of 16: EB Saint-Cyr 1–1 EA Guingamp (5–6 on penalties)

• Round of 32: Landerneau FC 0–1 EA Guingamp

• Round 1: US Alençon 1–3 EA Guingamp

Nice will be their first opponent competing at national level.

League table

Here are the standings in the league of EA Guingamp’s academy teams whose players may feature in the Gambardella squad:

• Reserve team: 4th in National 3 Group C

• U19 Nationals: 5th in Group C

• U17 Nationals: 5th in Group F

Extra info

Although crowned French U18 champions in 2007–08, the Bretons of “l’Akademi” have never won the Coupe Gambardella. They notably reached the quarter-finals in 1970 and 2011.

Nice won the competition in 2012, beating AS Saint-Étienne 2–1 in the final thanks to goals from Alexy Bosetti and Arthur Leblanc. The former defender is now a fitness coach at the academy and will travel with the squad to Brittany.

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