Slovenia secure maiden finals berth

Slovenia have reached the UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals for the first time thanks to a 2-0 victory against Belarus.

Injury problems
The Elite round Group 2 mini-tournament hosts were struggling with injuries in the build-up to their final match with coach Milos Kostic without Vid Belec, Adnan Besic, Delamea Mlinar and Matej Rapnik, but first-half strikes from Anel Omerovic and Rajko Rep proved sufficient to claim the group on goal difference from the Netherlands, 2-1 winners against Russia in the final round of matches.

Prolific Rep
After all four previous games in the section had ended in draws to set up a fascinating last day of action and 2,000 fans watched the hosts start strongly in Murska Sobota. They were rewarded with two goals in six minutes, the first after a quarter of an hour when Martin Milec provided the assist from a corner with Omerovic heading in. The key moment of the contest arrived quickly when Belarus had goalkeeper Filipp Voytekhovich dismissed for bringing down Robert Beric, with Rajko Rep dispatching his fifth goal in three matches from the penalty spot to seal their first passage through the Elite round at the fourth time of asking.