Iceland, Spain and France reach finals
Monday, April 11, 2011
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Iceland, France and holders Spain have qualified for July's UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship finals in Nyon after victories on Matchday 2 of the second qualifying round.
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Iceland will play in the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship finals for the first time after a day of second qualifying round action which also resulted in qualification for France and holders Spain.
Following a 2-0 defeat of Belgium on Saturday, Spain booked their third successive finals appearance courtesy of an emphatic 6-1 win against Italy. Iraia Perez de Heredia was the stand-out performer for Jorge Vilda's team with a hat-trick. Paola Roversi's 38th-minute strike for Italy was the first goal conceded by the 2009 runners-up in five qualifiers this term.
Victory means Spain have an unassailable three-point lead in Group 2 over Belgium, who beat mini-tournament hosts the Czech Republic 1-0, going into the final set of matches on Thursday. In the event of teams finishing level on points, head-to-head record is used, initially, as the deciding factor.
For the semi-finals at the Colovray stadium opposite UEFA's Nyon headquarters on 28 July, Spain will play Iceland, who wrapped up top spot in Group 1 after overcoming hosts Poland 2-0. Substitutes Gudmunda Brynja Oladóttir and Telma Thrastadróttir scored the goals which ensured the Nordic side built on their opening Group 1 success, a 2-0 triumph over England. And that was enough to qualify as Iceland's last opponents Sweden lost 1-0 to England, who like Poland cannot overtake the leaders.
In Group 4, France made it a hat-trick of celebrations when they beat Switzerland 2-0 thanks to Claire Lavogez's second successive double and Wales versus Scotland finished 1-1. Francisco Rubio's charges are four points ahead of Wales, who they meet on Thursday, and will go on to play in their third finals in four years, having been runners-up in 2008.
They could be rematched with the side that won that tournament, two-time champions Germany, if they win the remaining Group 3. That section also features Russia, Finland and Denmark and begins on 21 April.