Portugal win Group A

Manuel Curto was once again Portugal's match winner as they beat Austria 1-0 in Santa Comba Dão to move into the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship. The host nation now have a maximum six points from their opening two games, and were assured of their last-four berth, and top spot in Group A, when Denmark beat Hungary 2-0 later in the day.

Team changes
For this afternoon's game Portugal coach António Violante made just one change to the side that beat Denmark, João Coimbra making way for the aforementioned Manuel Curto, a goalscoring substitute on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Ernst Weber kept the same eleven that started Austria's 1-0 victory against Hungary, meaning there was no place for his country's scorer that day, Christoph Sauerer.

Midfield battle
Early on Austria's patient, short-passing style contrasted with Portugal's more expansive use of the ball, although neither side was able to establish a definite superiority. The first significant shot did not arrive until the tenth minute when Portuguese midfield player Márcio Sousa curled a left-footed free-kick a couple of metres wide of Robert Olejnik's goal.

Individual brilliance
Portugal were struggling to match the fluency of their performance against the Danes but in the 14th minute a moment of individual brilliance gave the hosts the lead when Manuel Curto drilled a low, left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area through a crowded Austrian defence and into the back of the net for his second goal of the tournament.

Pichler chance
In the 17th minute Sascha Pichler had a chance to equalise when Mário Felgueiras miskicked an attempted clearance, but with the goal gaping the Austria captain, who hit five goals in qualification, failed to find the target. In the 30th minute the Austrians came even closer when Franz Schiemer's goalbound header drew an instinctive one-handed save from Mário Felgueiras.

Portuguese confidence
By this stage Portugal were threading the ball around with confidence and enjoying the greater share of the possession but when Austria did attack they did so with purpose, Pichler heading over in the 33rd minute after a deep cross from the right.

Midfield reinforced
At half-time Weber threw on Sauerer and Martin Frantisch to reinforce his midfield leaving Pichler as the lone striker. It was Portugal who enjoyed the first good chance of the half, João Pedro forcing a save out of Olejnik with a back-post header. Almost immediately Austria responded, Sauerer dancing through the Portuguese defence before pulling a low shot just wide.

Saleiro chance
With Austria pushing forward in search of an equaliser the game really began to open up at both ends. On 64 minutes Saleiro broke clear of the Austrian defence but under-hit his shot, allowing Olejnik to gather.

Semi-final situation
For the final few minutes Austria tried their hardest to find an equaliser but Portugal held firm, meaning that they will top the group regardless of the result in their final game against Hungary on Sunday in Viseu. Austria's fate will be decided in their game against Denmark in Nelas. The Austrians need to win to progress to the last four as the Danes have a superior goal difference.