Gudelj catches his breath

Hopes fading
Croatia knew they had to better Ukraine's result against Hungary to claim first place in the section and qualify for May's finals in Italy, but with that game goalless, it seemed that hope was slipping away for Ivan Gudelj's side.

Dramatic winner
But then Stipe Glasovic, only brought on as a substitute midway through the second half, scored the winning goal to book his team a trip to Tuscany - although his strike nearly finished off his coach. "I almost had a heart attack," admitted Gudelj of the game in Makarska on the Adriatic coast.

Cruised through
The 45-year-old has been in charge of Croatia's U17s for two years. Last season his charges were pipped by eventual final tournament competitors Northern Ireland in the qualifying round on goals scored, but this time they cruised through the first stage, qualifying from Group 7 along with Serbia and Montenegro.

Record tally
On the way they crushed Andorra by a competition record 11-0 scoreline, and became the first U17 team to claim 15 goals in a mini-tournament. But the real success came last week as, despite playing on home soil - traditionally a major advantage in youth competitions, illustrated as the hosts qualified from each of the first two Elite round groups - Croatia were tipped to play second fiddle to Portugal, a nation with a long tradition at youth level who had been in irresistible form in the previous stage.

Tough task
However, on Matchday 1, Ukraine shocked Portugal 3-0, while two Matija Spicic goals gave Croatia a 2-1 win against Hungary. Two days later, Croatia and Ukraine drew 1-1, seemingly giving the hosts a very tough task as their final opponents Portugal defeated Hungary 2-0 in the second round of matches.

'Excellent game'
That, though, was reckoning without Glasovic, whose goal took Croatia into their first U17 finals, although the hosts were also indebted to Hungary for getting off the mark by preventing a Ukrainian victory that would have taken them through. "It was an excellent game between two excellent teams and I want to congratulate the Portuguese on their great performance," said Gudelj. "Also, I want to thank Hungary who in a way have also helped us to win the mini-tournament. We benefited from an excellent atmosphere here in Makarska and got great support from more than 2,000 fans.

Fine prospects
"The best player of the mini-tournament was Stipe Bacelic-Grgic," added Gudelj, who also said that midfielders Davor Speha and Damir Rasic, and forward Damir Vidovic, are fine prospects for international careers. However, the coach added a word of warning to the quartet, continuing: "But only if they continue working hard and continue taking football seriously without neglecting their education."

'Great spirit'
There is not much time for Gudelj to celebrate as the finals draw is little more than a fortnight away and the tournament itself begins on 3 May. He said: "Now we have a few weeks to prepare for the finals in Italy and I hope we will also have good results there. My team has a great spirit - they have shown that so far in this competition."