Matanzas/The goalkeeper of Cuban descent Guillermo Ponce López begins the 2026-2027 season with a new chapter in the Real Madrid youth team by being assigned to the main Under 19 (Youth A) team of the most winning institution in Spanish football.
The Madrid goalkeeper, whose father is Cuban, has already added two games without conceding a goal in Group 5 of the current Youth Honor Division, the highest category of Under 19 football in Spain. On the first day of the championship, his team won 3-0 over its counterpart from Rayo Majadahonda, and on the second day they beat Talavera de la Reina’s eleven 4-0.
At the European level, Guille made his debut in the current edition of the UEFA Youth League, the most important competition for youth clubs at the continental level, and kept a clean sheet against the Inter Milan squad. The 17-year-old player had already received a call-up to this tournament last season, but he watched that match against Olympiacos from the bench.
Already in the 2025-2026 season he had demonstrated his worth under the three sticks of Juvenil B of the merengue team, with which he became champion of the National Youth League in its section of the Community of Madrid
Ponce lived a fairly active summer in 2026, because in addition to doing preseason with the Real Madrid third team, he represented Spain in the European Under 17 Championship, in which La Roja finished as a semi-finalist. The Spanish-Cuban goalkeeper played two games in the tournament: a 1-0 victory against Belgium in the group stage and the semifinal against Italy, lost 4-2 on penalties by the Spanish after a 1-1 draw in regulation time. After that event, he debuted with Spain Under 18 in friendly matches.
The rise of Guille Ponce is no coincidence. Already in the 2025-2026 season he had proven his worth under the three sticks of Juvenil B of the merengue team, with which he became champion of the National Youth League in its section of the Community of Madrid. To contribute to this title, the Real Madrid youth player has only conceded 10 goals since 2016 and finished with 20 clean sheets in 24 games.
His father, Dr. Guillermo Ponce Morales, was born in Villa Clara in 1969. He has developed a renowned career as a forensic examiner and chairs the Association of Cuban Doctors in Spain. His social and political activism has led him to expose on more than one occasion the arbitrariness of the Cuban dictatorship. Through his leadership in the Afrohispanos association and his role as Secretary General at the AFROMADRID conference, he has contributed to making visible the need for equality, acceptance and opportunities for people of African descent on Spanish soil.
