Belgium fall short despite goal glut
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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Kazakhstan 0-5 Belgium
Despite an emphatic win in their last Group 2 Elite round game, Belgium were denied a UEFA European U17 Championship finals spot by Spain.
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Belgium finished their UEFA European Under-17 Championship Elite round campaign with a 5-0 win over Kazakhstan, but it was not enough to make the finals as Group 2 hosts Spain beat the Czech Republic 1-0 to secure the section's sole qualification spot.
Vervaet double
The Young Red Devils were unbeaten in their Elite round pool, but after drawing their first two games, they needed a low-scoring draw between Spain and the Czech Republic as well as a win themselves. Although they kept the latter part of the bargain, Spain's victory denied them in the end and they had to settle for second place in the group. Pieter Vervaet scored his side's first and last goals in La Nucia taking his total for the round to three strikes. In between, Gaetan Lambreghts (30) and Laurens Debock (34) had quickly made it 3-0 before Paul-José Mpoku added a fourth six minutes after the break.