Switzerland share spoils with Greece

Greece and Switzerland shared the points in their opening UEFA European Under-17 Championship Elite round Group 1 fixture.

Seferovic equaliser
Mini-tournament hosts Greece were keen to make a good start against one of last year's finalists, and took the lead in a wet Komotini with a Nikolaos Karelis shot from 40 metres out just before the break. But early in the second half Grasshopper-Club striker Haris Seferovic levelled after he pounced on a parried André Goncalves free-kick, and although his shot was cleared, it was adjudged to have crossed the line. Greece pushed hard to restore their lead but had ten men for the last few minutes after Karelis received a second booking for a foul on Nassim Ben Khalifa.

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Home coach Georgios Semertzidis said: "In football sometimes the best team does not win. Apart from the first ten minutes we were clearly better but missed many chances. In general, I am pleased with the performance." Switzerland's Dany Ryser added: "Greece were superior, we are happy with a draw." Greece take on Slovenia on Saturday, when Switzerland face Poland, who won the other game in the group 2-0 today.