France send holders packing

France won their second successive shoot-out to book their place in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship final, as they beat holders Spain 5-4 on penalties today.

Early miss
Spain, weary after four tough matches, looked eager to kill off the match in the opening stages and their physical dominance almost paid off after eight minutes, when Jaime Gavilán was brought down in the area by Yoann Folly. Gavilán missed his golden opportunity to seizing the early advantage as he shot wide off the left post from the spot, allowing Luc Rabat's side to breathe a sigh of relief.

Plessis penalty
Gavilán the went on to waste two further chances during the first half, as France showed plenty of skilful attacking play without creating any clear-cut opportunities. Just when the scorline seemed certain top be blank at the interval, midfield player Guillaume Plessis converted a penalty to give France the lead.

Tired Spain
Plessis's goal took the sting out of the Spanish attack and Juan Santisteban's side looked visibly deflated at the start of the second half. France continued to improve and pushed forward in a bid add to their one-goal advantage. Spain were struggling and showed little of the form that saw them finish the group stage with maximum points.

Dramatic finish
Spain raised their game for the closing stages and almost equalised when neat interplay between Gavilán and Jose Antonio Llamas put Roberto Soldado clear but he crashed his effort against the crossbar. With time running out, and France all but assured of a place in the final, Spain levelled matters as Roberto's corner was diverted into his own goal by Plessis.

Rippert the hero
The match was then decided by a penalty-shoot-out that saw Spain missed three times, before Guillaume Rippert sealed a dramatic victory when he crashed the ball high into the net.

Tactical control
Rabat, whose France side have been far from consistent during the tournament, was delighted with his player's performance. "We were far better this time from our last performance against Germany," he said. "And while Spain were better physically, I always thought we had the match tactically under control."

Out of luck
Santisteban was philosophical in defeat but admitted his team were suffering from fatigue. "My team looked tired today," he said. "And, as luck was against us, we weren't able to keep cool in the penalty shoot-out."