Clinical Spain book final berth

Goals in each half from Amanda Sampedro and Esther González propelled Spain into the 2009 UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship final but only after Ángel Vilda's charges were pushed hard by a brave Norway side.

Power-packed opener
Spain opened the scoring in the eleventh minute, Sampedro reacting quickest to a half-clearance from the Norway defence to rifle the ball from 12 metres past Ingrid Børnes and into the bottom corner of the net. Despite creating the majority of scoring chances, Norway were made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal six minutes into the second half when Esther looped the ball over Børnes from the left edge of the penalty area to book Spain's place in Thursday's final in Nyon against holders Germany.

Opportunities missed
Following the opening ten minutes, a Spanish victory looked unlikely as Norway fashioned two clear scoring opportunities. Lisa-Marie Karlseng Utland beat a static Spanish defence to a long ball after three minutes only to fire the ball off goalkeeper Sandra Paños's legs. Utland then beat Paños after nine minutes after connecting with Siri Mork's through ball only for the retreating Yazmina Rodríguez to hook the ball away from the gaping net.

Consistent threat
Although Spain maintained more possession, especially with Ana Buceta pulling the strings from midfield, it was Norway who posed a more consistent threat on goal during the opening half. Else Vassbø's shot from ten metres was easily gathered by Paños and then Emile Haavi robbed Esther of possession only to shoot across the face of goal.

Muted response
Spain then almost extended their lead after 26 minutes but Norway right-back Anja Sønstevold diverted Buceta's shot away from goal following a neat interchange beginning with Gili Gema's cross-field pass and Laura Gutiérrez's subsequent cross. But once Esther extended the Spanish lead, the only question that remained was the margin of victory as Norway needed to dig deep to keep Vilda's side at bay in the final quarter and they will now competewith France for third place on Thursday.