Manchester City young striker Teddie Lamb is battling with Man United's JJ Gabriel to be the best goalscorer in the FA Youth Cup Final
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 10: Teddie Lamb of Manchester City celebrates after scoring their side's second goal during the FA Youth Cup Semi Final match between Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers at Joie Stadium on April 10, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Teddie Lamb is looking to strike for Manchester City
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If you can drag yourself away from the moaning about stadium venues, the FA Youth Cup final promises to be a fascinating contest between two exciting teams from some of the best academies in the country. And at the heart of it are two English goalscoring sensations looking to make the difference for Blue or Red.
Hoping to fire United to glory is JJ Gabriel, who only turned 15 in October but is highly coveted at Old Trafford and has spent time with Sir Alex Ferguson as well as training with the first team. He was expected to be rested for United's final league game ahead of the Youth Cup final but reportedly asked to play so that he could try to finish as the top scorer in the division.
Gabriel scored to finish on 23 goals but he was ultimately beaten down to second - just as United were by City in the table - by Teddie Lamb. The Blues forward netted two at Everton to finish with 25 goals and extend his scoring run to 10 consecutive games as he continues a remarkable first season at the City Football Academy.
Lamb, 16, is as large as Gabriel is little and if they could be a dream double act for the England team in future years they have had a friendly rivalry all season. Lamb's teammate Harrison Miles is nodding emphatically and laughing before the striker can answer if he has been thinking about the race to be top scorer this season, and it has been spoken about at England youth camps.
"You do everything in your power to make your team win. For me, either being selfish or being unselfish can help," Lamb said. "But you obviously have that as a striker. That's what makes you hungry and want to score goals.
"When I was on England camp with him (Gabriel), I was saying, 'you need to stop scoring so I can get that top spot!'. It's healthy competition and it pushes me and I think it'll push him. So he wants to score more goals. It's pushed me to my limits this season to want to score more goals. It's just the pride you have as a striker, you always want to score goals."
The pair are hoping to be part of England's bright future but Lamb also represents England's changing present. Last year as a 15-year-old he made the bench for League One side Leyton Orient and in years gone by breaking into that first team and scoring goals would have been the way into senior football.
It is less than a decade since Jadon Sancho set the trend for young footballers to leave the academies of top Premier League clubs in search of teams that could fast-track them into the game. Sancho, mind, had been plucked from Watford by City and complications with bringing in young foreign talent after Brexit has seen an arms race among the top academies to sign the best homegrown talent.
Lamb has followed in the footsteps of Liam Delap, among others, but it is telling that he felt the move was best for his development. The teenager has exceeded his own expectations in his first year at City, and while he puts that down to the work of the academy coaches helping him bulk up he has also enjoyed getting to watch Erling Haaland close up.
"For me, he's the best striker currently in world football. I see little details he has in his game. If he does it, then I can implement it in my game. It just gives you confidence," he said. "You get to see where you're at as well up against them, how far you are from that level. It's a great confidence booster and a great learning experience.
"Obviously, at Orient I was on the bench for the first time, and there were some great opportunities in the club. It did so much for me. But when you see the opportunities and the development that City can give you, it's really hard to turn it down.
"Thankfully, I did make this move, and I've improved so much as a player in the short time that I've been here. I think this is the best club for me to develop at and to maximise my performance in the game."
Training with the first team is a big plus, and in addition to individuals being plucked to go up to fill in any gaps in Guardiola's squad the whole group are regularly asked to be the opposition in drills before a matchday. That helps to show the pathway to the senior side, but so too does the production line of Nico O'Reilly, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and more who have quickly established themselves as some of the country's best players.
For midfielder Miles, another who was signed from elsewhere (Southampton in his case) to go into their Under-18s side, that adds to the appeal of joining a club like City. Competitions such as the FA Youth Cup are markers for players to test themselves, but they can all see the longer game that they are part of.
"I definitely think the opportunities that we get, especially as 18s, going up, doing the matchday minus ones with them, seeing how they prepare for games, it almost inspires you to want to get to that level," said Miles. "But I think as well, seeing the players that come through, and they're not just players that come through, they're players that are playing at the highest level of football.
"Cole Palmer won the Club World Cup, Phil Foden's playing at major tournaments, Nico O'Reilly's getting his start for England. The list goes on. I think that definitely inspires a lot of us to want to get to that level. We're working every day, 18s, 21s, 16s, we're all working and pushing each other at training and games to develop and perform."
Lamb and Gabriel will both hope to make the decisive score on Thursday night but the goals for all involved are much bigger.