No stopping Spain in Sweden
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After losing two finals in a row, Spain went one better in 2024 with a perfect five-game run.
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Spain reclaimed the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship title in 2024 after two years of final heartbreak.
In both 2022 and 2023, Spain surged to the final having won every game of their campaign, including qualifying, only to be pipped respectively by Germany and France. At Sweden 2024, however, following yet another perfect run to the final, Spain defeated England 4-0 to claim their fifth Women's U17 EURO crown.
They won all three of their group games, scoring nine answered goals, but oddly none came before the 69th minute. That was when Spain went ahead in beating Portugal 3-0 and Belgium 5-0, while their Matchday 2 victory against Poland (which clinched progress as Group B winners with a game to spare) finished 1-0 thanks to an 87th-minute goal.
With Germany having not qualified – pipped in round 2 by France – Spain were now setting a new record of 13 semi-final appearances. Indeed, they had also now got through every group stage since the round was introduced in 2013/14.
Poland and Portugal both beat Belgium 1-0, leaving their Matchday 3 encounter a second-place decider. Since Poland had only lost 1-0 to Spain, they had a goal-difference advantage, and a 1-1 draw took them into their first semi-final since winning the 2012/13 title.
England and France both progressed from Group A with a game to spare after beating Norway and hosts Sweden (who came back from 2-0 down against France only to lose to a 89th-minute goal). England defeated France 1-0 for first place, while Norway had the consolation of a 2-0 win against neighbours Sweden for third.
Both group winners progressed comfortably through the semi-finals. Spain were six up against France within 31 minutes in an eventual 6-1 win, while England – who had lost all five of their previous semis – beat Poland 2-0 courtesy of two first-half goals.
That earned FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup places for England and reigning champions Spain, with Poland beating France on penalties for Europe's other slot and a debut at the global event.
Now Spain faced the final hurdle again, and this time everything went according to plan. Player of the Tournament and finals top scorer Alba Cerrato broke the deadlock against England on 41 minutes with her seventh goal in Sweden, and an own goal made it 2-0 at half-time.
Celia Segura struck twice in the second period for a 4-0 triumph, making Spain the first team to win every contest inside 90 minutes in both a five-game final tournament and an 11-match campaign including qualifying.