Out now: Technical reports on the 2025 youth tournaments

The four technical reports on the final tournaments of the men’s and women’s Under-17 and Under-19 competitions are now available on https://www.uefatechnicalreports.com/.

Backing the thoughts of UEFA’s technical observers with video evidence compiled by the Performance Analysis Unit, the reports review the final tournament from a coaching perspective, picking out technical topics and then supporting the prominent findings with specially-designed coaching drills.

One notable trend in the women’s tournaments was the increased use of three-centre-back structures, even though both finals featured back fours. The Netherlands defeated Norway 2-1 to lift the Under-17 title, while Spain’s 4-0 win against France in the Under-19 final gave them a record seventh title and a historic fourth consecutive youth triumph.

However the champions, along with England and Portugal, were the only teams not to operate with a back three at some stage while, at the Under-17 finals, Austria and Poland had a back three as their default setting with, as the technical observers noted, wing-backs tending to drift into inner channels during attacking play to permit quicker recovery if possession was lost.

Consequently, both reports examine the roles of wing-backs in attack and defence, their contributions to the high press and their relationships with wide attackers. Diverse approaches to pressing emerged as a standout feature, with more teams geared to encourage opponents to play into certain zones. At the Under-19 event, the observers highlighted the growing relevance of the ability to receive, shield and play the ball with back to goal – not only in the attacking third but also in the midfield phases of build-up play.

Turning to the men’s competitions, the Netherlands also enjoyed success, taking the Under-19 title with a 1-0 victory over defending champions Spain. At the Under-17 level, Portugal defeated France 3-0 in a final between two teams who, as the technical observers noted, were happy to drop into a mid-block after losses of possession, aiming to allow themselves space for rapid counterattacks.

Mid-block defending, rather than aggressive high pressing, emerged as one of the notable features of a tournament where 70% of counterattacks originated in central areas of the pitch. With midfielders quick and disciplined in covering spaces, one of the observers remarked, “I didn't see wide threats as a problem at this year's tournament at all.”

This contrasted sharply with the Under-19 tournament where cameras focused closer on wide areas. In the words of one of the observers, one of the frequent scenarios was one with three players – a wide attacker, a full-back and an attacking midfielder – forming a passing triangle, regardless of whether the full-back overlapped or underlapped in relation to the winger. “It was a tactical evolution that made for small-sided games out wide that can be coached and refined,” the observer commented. “It also had an impact on the players tasked with distributing the ball to the flanks.”

The event in Romania also produced a surprising statistic of only nine set-play successes among the tournament’s 65 goals, along with reflections on the potential impact of the eight-second rule on goalkeepers and the defensive mechanisms employed by teams to counteract the trend towards low crosses and cut-backs rather than the traditional lofted deliveries from wide areas.

UEFA’s technical observers at the four tournaments were experienced coaches and former players comprised of:

Women's Under-17s
Stella Gotal (Croatia) and Jarmo Matikainen (Finland)

Women's Under-19s
Nora Häuptle (Switzerland) and Pauline Hamill (Scotland)

Men's Under-19s
Jarmo Matikainen (Finland) and Dušan Fitzel (Czechia)

Men's Under-17s
Mixu Paatelainen (Finland) and David Adams (Wales)

In addition, each report features a section dedicated to goalkeeping issues, provided by Danny Alcock (England) for the men’s tournaments and Alisa Vetterlein (Germany) for the women’s tournaments, herself a champion at Under-19 level as the goalkeeper of the team who lifted the UEFA trophy in 2007.

Their input, it is hoped, will be valuable to all those involved at the developmental levels of men’s and women’s football.