New-look Sweden dominate Group 6
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
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A dominant Sweden hit 14 goals in their three Group 6 wins to cruise into the elite round as section winners, with Portugal earning the runners-up spot.
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Sweden made a confident start to the 2014 edition of the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship, claiming first place in Group 6 with a maximum nine points.
Sweden, playing their first competitive matches under new coach Katarina Olsson, had already secured their qualification before facing Serbia on the final day, after hitting 11 goals in winning their opening pair of games. There was no slowing down as Julia Zigiotti Olme, Filippa Angeldal and Tova Nilsson scored the goals in a 3-1 victory, which allowed Portugal − 2-0 winners against Israel − to secure second place and progress to the elite round.
The Swedes were the dominant team from the outset, beating Portugal 3-0 in their opening game with a starting XI featuring three survivors of the side which, 35 days earlier, had lost the final of the 2013 competition against Poland. One of that trio, Nathalie Björn, scored twice. They then overcame hosts Israel 8-0, with seven different players on the scoresheet, captain Lotta Ökvist hitting two.
Serbia and Portugal both had hope going into the last round of fixtures. Jovana Arandjelović's double had earned Serbia a 2-1 win against Israel in their first match, before Portugal beat Goran Sretenović's side 2-0 to join them on three points thanks to Nadine Cordeiro and Carolina Ferreira. In the end, Portugal's final-day victory was enough for them to advance.