West Ham United Under-18s were edged out 1-0 by host club Baniyas FC in the inaugural Youth Championship of Football final in Abu Dhabi.
The Hammers lost out to a 75th-minute free-kick from long range in the United Arab Emirate.
Dylan Tombides and Matthias Fanimo both missed a pair of opportunities to give West Ham the lead, but all of them were squandered before Baniyas made the English team pay late on.
Academy Director Tony Carr said the squad had thoroughly enjoyed their trip to the Middle East, despite the final result.
"Dylan and Matthias had a couple of chances and getting the first goal would have been vital, as I'm sure if we had gone 1-0 up then we would have won the game," said Carr.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't make the breakthrough and they managed to score. What was more disappointing was that the winning goal was a struck from so far out."
West Ham defeated German side Hamburger SV 3-1 in the semi-finals on Tuesday before spending Wednesday touring the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 track and the Ferrari World theme park.
Carr said the all-expenses paid tournament had been a fantastic experience for his young charges.
"We didn't play with the same sharpness as we did in the semi-final victory over Hamburg, but the whole tournament and trip have been a great experience for all the boys.
"We host Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup next week and training and playing out here in the warm weather has been the perfect preparation."
The Hammers return to competitive action on Wednesday evening, when Manchester United visit the Boleyn Ground in the FA Youth Cup fourth round, with kick-off at 7pm.