Fixture news: Albion face Benfica in International Cup opener

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Our men's under-21s begin their International Cup campaign against Benfica.

2025-08-26T11:00+01:00

Our men's under-21s have begun their Premier League 2 campaign with two 4-0 wins. 📷 by James Boardman.

Our men’s under-21s’ fixtures for the Premier League International Cup have been confirmed.

Albion face Benfica, Real Sociedad, PSG and Dinamo Zagreb in the group stages, with all of our matches played at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre.

Albion reached the quarter-finals of last season’s competition, before being knocked out by Athletic Bilbao.

Opponent	Date and kick-off time
SL Benfica	Friday 21 November - 7.30pm
Real Sociedad	Wednesday 10 December - 7.30pm
PSG	Sunday 14 December - 4pm
GNK Dinamo Zagreb	Tuesday 20 January - 7.30pm

The format explained

Group stages

The clubs are split into four groups of eight clubs, with four PL2 and four invited international clubs occupying each group. Each club play four group-stage games, with all games to only be played between PL2 and international clubs. The top two clubs from each group will proceed to the knockout stages and all participating PL2 clubs are to host the group-stage matches at either their main stadium or an approved alternative venue.

Knockout stages/End-of-season playoffs

The PLIC then proceeds to the quarter-final rounds contested by the eight clubs that proceeded through the group stages, followed by a semi-final and then a final to determine the champion. The semi-finals and final matches are to be hosted in the host club’s main stadium.

In the knockout stages the matches are one-off matches, with extra-time and then penalties required if the match is level after 90 minutes.