Greece and Norway deny Italy

Last season's UEFA European Under-17 Championship semi-finalists Italy will not repeat the feat this term after being eliminated by Greece and Norway in the tightest of the 13 qualifying round groups.

Italy out
Staging Group 9, Italy led the section prior to today's deciding matches, level on four points with Greece and three ahead of Norway and Moldova. Italy lost 2-0 to Norway, but still would have finished top had Greece not equalised late to draw 2-2 with Moldova. That lifted Greece to first place and took them through to the Elite round, with runners-up Norway pipping Italy on head-to-head record.

Hosts on top
It began well for Antonio Rocca's side with a 5-0 defeat of Moldova, Simone Magnaghi and Nicolò Quaggiotto both scoring twice and Alberto Baccarin converting a penalty. Dimitrios Diamantakos claimed the goal that gave Greece a 1-0 win against Norway. Two days later there were two 0-0 draws, Moldova sharing the points with Norway and Italy holding Greece despite the 28th-minute dismissal of Magnaghi.

Last-day drama
Norway now needed to beat Italy by two goals to ensure progress regardless of the other Matchday 3 result. Havard Nielsen scored midway through the first half and although Sverre Okland was sent off with two minutes left, substitute Chuma Anene made it 2-0 deep in added time. Moldova gave themselves a chance by going two up against Greece through Maxim Iurcu and Igor Dima but Diamantakos pulled one back before the break and converted a penalty with five minutes left to lift the team from third to first place and end Italy's hopes.

Boost for Finland
The late equaliser was also good news for Finland, who would have dropped out of the running to go through as one of the two third-placed sides with the best record against the top pair in their group had Greece ended in that position.