Italy, Spain, Poland, Greece and Iceland joined Norway and Portugal in securing a place in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals as the third round of matches from the elite round was played on Tuesday. These seven teams join Malta in the finals which will be played between July 3 and 16.
Tuesday’s results therefore saw the shock elimination of England – winners of the 2022 edition – and Israel – losing finalists last year. On the other hand, Iceland, like Malta, will be taking part in the finals for the first time. Malta enter the finals as host.
Norway won Group 1 with maximum points after defeating Northern Ireland 5-2. Hosts France finished second as they beat third-placed Romania 4-2. Northern Ireland ended their commitments without any points.
Italy emerged as winners in Group 2 thanks to a 2-2 draw with Belgium to finish one point ahead of hosts Germany who placed second thanks to a 3-0 win over Slovenia. Belgium finished third on 3 points and Slovenia 2.
Spain won Group 3 after obtaining a better goal-difference than Denmark who also ended their commitments on 7 points. Spain beat Ukraine 4-0 while Denmark defeated Luxembourg 4-1. Luxembourg placed third on 3 points with Ukraine finishing at the bottom without any points.
In Group 4, hosts Portugal registered a third win in as many matches, defeating Croatia 3-0. Czechia placed second on six points thanks to a 3-2 win over Sweden. Sweden and Croatia ended their commitments with just one point.
Greece and Slovakia ended their commitments on level points in Group 5 but Greece reached the finals thanks to a better goal-difference as they defeated the Republic of Ireland 1-0 and Slovakia defeated Estonia 3-1. Ireland placed third on three points ahead of bottom-placed Estonia who failed to win any points.
In Group 6, Poland also secured a place in the finals thanks to a better goal-difference than Israel although both obtained five points in all. In fact, Poland drew 2-2 with Serbia while Israel were held in a 1-1 draw by Latvia. Serbia placed third on 4 points ahead of Latvia with one point.
Meanwhile Iceland secured a place in the finals for the first time as they won Group 7 thanks to a 2-0 win over Hungary. England placed second as they defeated Turkiye 2-0. The latter finished third on 2 points with Hungary ending their commitments with just one point.
Source: MFA
