Poland leave it late to join Sweden

Poland and Sweden pipped Iceland to move through from UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying round Group 6 but Gudni Kjartansson's side can still progress after overtaking Albania as the third-placed team with the best record against the top two in their pool.

Iceland defeat Poland
Sweden were hosting the mini-tournament and began with a 4-1 win against the Faroe Islands in Markaryd. Denni Avdic and Christoffer Karlsson put Sweden in control in the first 21 minutes and although Christian Mouritsen pulled one back, Tobias Holmqvist restored the two-goal cushion before half-time. Avdic struck again just after the hour. Over in Ljungby, Iceland defeated last summer's final hosts Poland 2-0 as Rurik Gislason scored on 21 minutes and Marko Pavlov found the target seconds after the break.

Oziemczuk turns tables
However, Iceland suffered a 2-0 reverse against Sweden in Alvesta two days later. Homlquist's 15th-minute goal was added to early in the second half by Marcus Nilsson. Poland's campaign looked close to collapse when Mouritsen put the Faroe Islands ahead in the 54th minute in Markaryd. But one of the survivors from July's finals, Kamil Oziemczuk, equalised eleven minutes later and with four minutes left claimed a valuable winner.

Augustyn goals vital
Poland knew that they could advance, but had to defeat Sweden by a two-goal margin in Ljungby to make sure. Arkadiusz Rys's sixth-minute penalty gave Poland hope, and although Homlqvist quickly equalised, Blazej Augustyn made it 2-1 almost instantly. As time moved on and Skuli Jonsson, Arnor Smarason and Rurik Gislason had scored for Iceland against the Faroe Islands in Alvesta, Poland knew they would need another goal and, with 15 minutes left, Augustyn scored again. The 3-1 victory took Poland into first place in a three-way tie-breaker, that win putting them ahead of Sweden on head-to-head record.

Iceland wait
Iceland, who conceded a late Sam Jacobsen goal against the Faroe Islands, were the unlucky team as although they were level on points and goal difference in their games with the rest of the top three, they had scored three rather than four against Poland and Sweden. However, if none of the third-placed teams from the remaining five groups outdoes Iceland's results versus their group qualifiers, they will join Poland and Sweden in the Elite round draw on 5 December.