UEFA Under-17 Championship: Netherlands, Scotland first to reach finals

UEFA-Under-17-Malta2014-logoNetherlands and Scotland were the first two teams to reach the finals of the UEFA Under-17 Championship which will be held in Malta between the 9th and 21st May. The Elite Round of the competition, divided over seven groups, is currently underway with the group winners joining Malta in the finals.

Group 3 was the first to provide a finalist as hosts Netherlands defeated Austria 2-1, Sweden 2-0 and France 3-1 to win the group. The last game against France proved decisive as France had defeated Sweden 3-0 and Austria 2-1 in their first two matches.

Hosts Scotland have already made sure of winning Group 6 after beating Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 and Belgium 3-1 in their first two games. Bosnia-Herzegovina defeated Romania 1-0 while Romania and Belgium shared the spoils in a goalless draw. Even if Scotland lose to Romania in their last match and Bosnia-Herzegovina beat Belgium, Scotland would still qualify after winning the direct encounter.

Teams in Groups 1, 4, 5 and 7 will be playing their second match on Friday with Group 6 coming to an end on Saturday.

On Sunday, Group 2 will be in action with the decisive game between Poland and Turkey as Norway and hosts Greece have already been eliminated. Poland beat Greece and Norway with an identical 2-1 win while Turkey defeated Norway 3-2 and Greece 1-0. In case of a draw, since the two teams will have the same number of points from the direct encounter, the same goal-difference and the same number of goals scored in the direct encounter and in the group, clause 6.10 of the competition regulations will be adopted and penalty-kicks would determine which team qualifies for the final.

The final matches from Groups 1, 4, 5 and 7 will be played on Monday.