[Andor]

Italy hold out against lively England

There was no way through for either England or Italy as the two sides played out the second goalless draw of the day in Group B.

Deadlock
The first-half pressure applied by England gave no indication of the stalemate to come, but Italy looked better able to handle their opponents in the second period when they might have scored themselves. The result left both countries in contention to qualify for the UEFA European U19 Championship semi-finals ahead of Sunday's third round of matches.

England pressure
England made the early running. Daniel Sturridge had the first of a series of first-half chances for Brian Eastick's team, before Freddie Sears ruffled the side-netting from Sturridge's cross. Then Victor Moses's shot deflected off the back of Italy captain Massimiliano Tagliani and into the path of Kieran Gibbs whose angled attempt was blocked first by the leg of goalkeeper Vincenzo Fiorillo, then by the post.

Near misses
Francesco Rocca's side finally upped their sphere of operations to provide an opening for recalled forward Stefano Okaka Chuka, but his strike rolled harmlessly wide. There was greater menace in the low cross delivered by Sears which somehow eluded both Sturridge and Moses. Sears went close again, yet England's inability to convert territorial superiority into a lead nearly cost them minutes before half-time. Okaka Chuka broke clear of his markers and was just about to shoot when James Tomkins slid in to save his team.

Key change
The Azzurri dealt better with the English forward movement after the break. Coach Rocca introduced holding midfielder Silvano Raggio, who like Okaka Chuka had been suspended for the first game. This helped to restrict the front running of Sears, Moses and Danny Rose in support of Sturridge. Gibbs failed to take advantage of time and space in the area, before Moses let fly from 20 metres with a shot that Fiorillo saved well.

Parity reigns
With the earlier Group B fixture finishing 0-0 between Czech Republic and Greece, the opportunity was there for either side to make an impact on the section in Jablonec. Italy threatened to do it late on when Okaka Chuka drove at the England centre-backs before playing in Fernando Martin Forestieri. However, Krystian Pearce made a vital interception as the No10 shaped to shoot. There was no ending the deadlock.

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[Andor]

Italy through after seven-goal thriller

Italy won a scintillating contest to reach the last four and top Group B ahead of the Czech Republic despite twice surrendering the advantage in Mlada Boleslav.

Ebb and flow
The UEFA European Under-19 Championship's leading marksman, Tomáš Necid, fired in his third finals goal to cancel out Andrea Poli's opener before a frenzied second half produced five more strikes. Jan Morávek provided an instant response to Giacomo Bonaventura's effort before Alberto Paloschi's penalty and Poli's second looked to have ended the contest only for Morávek to set up a frantic finish.

Clinical Italy
Jakub Dovalil's side commanded the opening 20 minutes but their lack of cutting edge was punished by opponents who struck masterfully with their first moment of quality. Stefano Okaka Chuka angled a pass through to Paloschi who sped to the byline before pulling a perfect cross back for Poli to score from close range.

Czech pressure
No sooner had the celebrations died down than the Czechs were level. A long free-kick was chested down classily by Necid and the forward nipped into the box to receive the ball back from Morávek and rifle a low shot across Vincenzo Fiorillo. The hosts' tails were up and the Italian custodian was forced into two successive saves, pushing Lukáš Mareček's long-range attempt wide before repelling Morávek's bouncing shot from ten metres.

Substitute effect
Francesco Rocca introduced Bonaventura at half-time in place of Fernando Martin Forestieri in the hope of establishing a firmer foothold in the match – though the coach could scarcely have envisaged just what an impact the change would have on Italian fortunes. Within eleven minutes the midfielder had restored the Azzurri lead, picking up a loose ball 25 metres out and unleashing a low drive into the corner.

Paying the penalty
But again they failed to concentrate at the other end and paid the price. Necid was allowed to clip a pass out to the unmarked Petr Reinberk who burst down the wing and swept over a cross that Morávek slid in to convert. Paloschi had been a peripheral figure for much of the encounter yet was central to Italy overcoming this latest setback. Radim Řezník collided with the striker, who picked himself up to register his second goal of the tournament from the penalty spot.

Frenetic pace
Italy's points seemed to be safe when Necid lobbed a glorious opportunity wide and then Poli added a fourth, calmly slipping a shot past Tomáš Vaclík from Okaka Chuka's through ball, after the Azzurri had had Andrea Mazzarani sent off. But Morávek blasted in his second of the evening with four minutes left to herald a tense finale. A third equaliser, however, proved beyond the Czechs.

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[Andor]

England claim Greek scalp in vain

England finally found their scoring touch to defeat Greece 3-0 but still exited the UEFA European Under-19 Championship as Italy beat the Czech Republic in the other Group B game to top the group.

World Cup consolation
The floodgates opened belatedly for England who won with second-half goals from Ben Mee, a Freddie Sears penalty and Daniel Sturridge. However, their reward was not the semi-final place which also depended on a Czech victory or draw, but third position in the pool and a ticket to the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Flying start
With progress at stake, the match in Liberec began brightly. Sturridge escaped Greece's defence to latch on to Danny Rose's ball and see his shot saved by goalkeeper Nikos Babaniotis. The excitement continued at the other end as Apostolos Giannou fired against goalkeeper David Button after Nikolaos Boutzikos and Lefteris Matsoukas had undone the England back line. Sears nearly connected with a Rose through pass. Then Sturridge let fly from 20 metres, forcing Babaniotis into a stop – Sears having profited from hesitancy between Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Vassilis Lampropoulos to create the opening.

Chances aplenty
Despite Ioannis Papadopoulos finding his range from distance, and namesake Kyriakos heading wide, England looked the more constructive team as half-time approached. There were chances from the edge of the Greece area for Kieran Gibbs. Against that, the failure of Brian Eastick's side to clear their lines after a corner resulted in Ioannis Papadopoulos drifting an effort centimetres wide. But the flow was largely towards Greek territory, as witnessed by Babaniotis's brilliant block from Sears, followed by Kyriakos Papadopoulos getting his body in the way of Gibbs's blast.

Deadlock broken
The breakthrough came after 48 minutes when defender Mee rose unchallenged to power in a right-wing corner from Victor Moses. One almost became two as Rose's shot was kicked clear by Vangelis Galanis, before the winger's follow-up was kept out by Babaniotis, who also saved a strike from Gibbs. Realising the severity of the situation, Alexis Alexiou's Greece came out of their shells. Ioannis Papadopoulos warmed the hands of Button, then a break led by Savas Gentzoglou ended with Matsoukas shooting into the side-netting. Joe Mattock also made a vital tackle to prevent Giannou racing through.

All over
The hopes of a Greece side missing Sotiris Ninis through suspension could have been extinguished when Sears released Sturridge whose chip sailed over. Sturridge did, nonetheless, win a 68th-minute penalty, going down under the challenge of Lampropoulos. Sears did the rest with a cool conversion. Greece roused themselves sufficiently for Michail Pavlis to head centimetres wide, then Button tipped over a Ioannis Papadopoulos free-kick. It was all to no avail, however, as Sturridge's neat finish completed the English victory.

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[Andor]

Hungary humbled by gritty Germany

Germany secured top spot in Group A and a semi-final meeting with the Czech Republic with a deserved victory against a much-change Hungarian side in Pribram.

Italy await
Both sides had already cemented their places in the last four with two wins from as many matches but Tibor Sisa's charges lost their perfect record thanks to Stefan Reinartz's powerful header and Marcel Risse's crashing drive. András Simon had levelled briefly but the UEFA European Under-19 Championship debutants now face Italy at the next stage.

Seven changes
Hungary, requiring a win to wrestle top spot from their opponents, retained only four players from the side that guaranteed their place in the last four with a second tournament victory against Spain whereas Sven Bender, Savio Nsereko and Risse were the only newcomers to the Germany starting lineup following their convincing success against Bulgaria.

Early openings
It was little surprise, therefore, that Horst Hrubesch's men acclimatised quicker. Germany came desperately close to opening the scoring twice in the first two minutes only for Hungary goalkeeper Péter Pokorni to make an outstanding double block, first repelling Dennis Naki thumping drive then Nsereko's follow-up.

Reinartz header
Presentable chances were at a premium in the opening 45 minutes despite Germany's superiority but a set-piece appeared to be a creative source they could tap into and so it proved as the opening goal arrived on 35 minutes. Naki's deep corner was met by a diving header from Reinartz and Pokorni's hand could only loop the ball into the air and over the line before László Szabó could clear from under his crossbar.

Chances spurned
The pattern of the match continued after the restart as Timo Gebhart's curler failed to wrong-foot Pokorni while the incoming players were determined to impress coach Hrubesch. Another corner caused panic in the Hungary defence with Bender's volley only failing to register thanks to the body of Dániel Lengyel and Risse twice hammering efforts just wide from distance.

German response
Their inability to convert proved costly, however, as Simon equalised by placing his header over Ron-Robert Zieler after a sublime cross to the back post from Szabó. The goal over served to awaken Germany from their slumber, though, and within two minutes they were back in front as Naki tiptoed towards the Hungary box and slid in Risse who made amends for his earlier misses with a ferocious drive from a narrow angle to calm any fears of a late turnaround.

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[Andor]

Clinical Spain finish with a flourish

Spain gave a glimpse of what might have been as they ended their UEFA European Under-19 Championship campaign in impressive fashion with a fine win against Bulgaria to claim third place in Group A.

Devastating display
Both sides were already eliminated but, with a place in next year's FIFA U-20 World Cup awaiting the side who came out on top in Prague, there was still plenty to play for. The sides' goal differences meant Spain needed only a point to finish higher but early strikes from Aarón Ñíguez and Emilio Nsue put Ginés Meléndez's side in complete command. Emilio and Fran Mérida added further goals early in the second period to round off a convincing win, although Spain finished with ten men as Álvaro Domínguez was dismissed for a second bookable offence late on.

Aarón stunner
Spain might have struggled for a cutting edge in their first two matches but the deposed holders had no such problems here, although it was their goalkeeper who made the first save of the match, David de Gea palming Momchil Tsvetanov's free-kick behind. Mérida was soon forcing Ivan Karadzhov into action at the other end, yet the Bulgaria No1 was powerless in the 13th minute when the ball fell to Aarón just inside the opposing half and, a quick glance and a swing of his right boot later, it was sailing over Karadzhov's head and into the net.

Cool finish
Three minutes later it was 2-0, Mérida splitting the Bulgaria defence with a perfectly-weighted pass for Emilio to outpace the centre-backs and calmly slide past Karadzhov. Although Spain lost Aarón to a hamstring injury they continued to look the more likely to get the match's third goal, Daniel Parejo shooting just too high. Bulgaria were not without a threat of their own, however, Tsvetanov meeting Mihail Aleksandrov's left-wing cross with an acrobatic volley that flashed across the face of goal.

Second-half strikes
Spain were quickly back on the front foot at the start of the second half, Daniel Aquino driving into the side-netting after exchanging passes with Emilio, before the same pair combined to make it 3-0 in the 52nd minute, the former whipping in a fine left-wing cross that Emilio expertly guided inside the far post with his head. Jordi Alba then set up Mérida for a fourth just past the hour although Emilio was subsequently denied by Karadzhov after running on to another Mérida pass and Domínguez collected his second yellow card, but Spain had long made sure of the win.

©uefa.com 1998-2008. All rights reserved.

 

[boris14]

Another last minute heartache for Czech national team :groan:

 

[Andor]

The Germans won in their usual way But bad defending also with the goal, such a high ball forward should be easy to defend for centrebacks.

 

[Andor]

Forestieri fires Italy into final

A second-half goal from substitute Fernando Forestieri took Italy into the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final for the first time since 2003 despite a determined effort from Hungary in Plzen.

Narrow victory
The AC Siena midfielder came on for Giovanni Formiconi at half-time of an enthralling semi-final and struck the only goal of the game 20 minutes later, advancing down the left channel to steer a low finish into the far corner of the net. Hungary had more shots but paid the price for being unable to unpick a typically miserly Italy defence as the Azzurrini held out to book their place in Saturday's final against Germany, when they will be bidding to win this competition for the second time.

Lively start
Hungary made six changes from the side beaten by Germany on Sunday and looked the livelier team in the first 45 minutes, Vincenzo Fiorillo having to push behind an angled shot from one of the returnees, Vlagyimir Komán, within two minutes. The captain then just failed to pick out Krisztián Németh with a low cross following a swift Hungary counterattack although András Gosztonyi had more luck in the 12th minute, cutting back for Németh to turn smartly and bring Fiorillo into action again.

Disciplined defending
Despite having more promising attacks Hungary struggled to create clear chances against an Italy back line which had certainly tightened up having conceded three goals in their previous fixture against the Czech Republic. And the Azzurrini were soon showing their offensive threat as well, Michelangelo Albertazzi unleashing a first-time shot from 25 metres that Péter Gulácsi plucked out of the air following good work from Stefano Okaka Cuka and Alberto Paloschi. Németh then flashed an effort into the side-netting from the corner of the penalty area as half-time approached.

Hungary efforts
The pattern continued into the second half, with Hungary orchestrating the more attractive moves but being reduced to long-range attempts, with Gosztonyi firing just wide of the left-hand post after Komán and Németh had worked a clever short corner. Attila Busai then unleashed a thunderous strike from a Németh knockdown that Fiorillo beat away before the opening goal arrived in the 65th minute – but at the wrong end from the Hungarian point of view.

Forestieri winner
Silvano Raggio was the architect, slipping a pass through for Forestieri to race clear and prod past Gulácsi to give Italy the lead. Hungary tried to respond, Szabó firing just wide and Fiorillo denying Németh from distance, although Gulácsi had to turn Okaka Chuka's effort against his post. Deep in added time Gosztonyi struck the post as Italy held on to earn their opportunity to emulate the class of 2003.

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[Andor]

Last gasp Sukuta-Pasu ends Czech dream

Richard Sukuta-Pasu struck after 119 minutes of a gripping contest to send Germany into the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final as 2-1 victors against a brave Czech Republic side.

Deadlock
The Germany substitute raced clear to smash in the winning goal in Mlada Boleslav and finally end home hopes at the Mestský Stadion. The Czech Republic had fallen behind to Marcel Risse's goal but rallied marvellously after Tomáš Necid's equaliser.

Advantage Germany
Benefiting from Czech nerves, Germany dominated early on. Deniz Naki fed Savio Nsereko – banned for the final after collecting a 120th-minute booking – down the inside-left channel and he cut inside Radim Řezník before rolling a shot just the safe side of Tomáš Vaclík's post. Timo Gebhart broke down the right to cross for Dennis Diekmeier, but he lost possession in the six-metre box. A goal might not have been coming, but one arrived after 17 minutes. Risse collected a half-cleared ball on the Germany right and advanced a few strides before hitting a low diagonal shot towards Vaclík's near post which the keeper could only help into his net.

Equaliser
With wingers Risse and Nsereko supporting forwards Naki and Gebhart, Germany's control appeared total; except it was not. Necid equalised with the hosts' first attempt after 24 minutes. The centre-forward looped a header beyond keeper Ron-Robert Zieler from Lukáš Mareček's right-sided free-kick for his fourth finals goal. After much coughing and spluttering by their team, the 5,000-strong crowd found its voice.

Ebb and flow
With twins Lars and Sven Bender patrolling midfield, Germany continued to push forward. However, sloppiness crept into their football and Jan Morávek twice threatened Horst Hrubesch's defence after picking up on loose play. There was even more give and take about the second half. When Jakub Heidenreich's corner reached Roman Brunclík at the far post, he helped it back across goal where Necid just failed to apply the finish. Next, Jan Vošahlík teed up Necid near the penalty spot and his volley sailed centimetres wide.

Near misses
With midfielder Jan Hable – recalled by Jakub Dovalil along with Brunclík and Heidenreich – gaining the upper hand, Morávek fluffed a chance after a mistake by Zieler. An even better opportunity fell to Germany replacement Sukuta-Pasu, after Sven Bender invited Diekmeier to lay a ball across goal, yet the No9 touched it wide. Another substitute, Martin Zeman, flashed a pass from right to left for Jan Lecjaks whose strike Zieler did well to hold.

Agonisingly close
The longer the game went, the more belief seemed to infuse Czech players and fans. The place nearly erupted when Lars Bender, challenging Jan Polák, nodded Zeman's inswinging free-kick narrowly wide of his own goal. It should definitely have been 2-1 after 84 minutes when Necid directed a free header agonisingly wide. It was the cue for extra time. Here, Necid carried on bullying Germany's defenders. Sukuta-Pasu provided a similar menace and might have scored twice before his late clincher which took his team into Saturday's final against Italy – and broke Czech hearts.

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[Andor]

Necid's goal

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[Andor]

Germany power to U19 glory

Germany claimed the UEFA European Under-19 Championship trophy for the first time despite playing more than half the final against Italy with ten men. Goals from Lars Bender, Richard Sukuta-Pasu and Timo Gebhart secured victory in an eventful decider in Jablonec.

Eventful encounter
Germany last tasted success in a youth championship in the U16 event in 1992, yet Horst Hrubesch's side took a significant step towards ending that long wait when Lars Bender struck midway through the opening period. Their hopes suffered a seemingly severe setback as captain Florian Jungwirth was dismissed for a second bookable offence seven minutes before half-time having fouled Stefano Okaka Cuka twice in quick succession, but Germany weathered the resulting Italy pressure and doubled their advantage a minute past the hour when Sukuta-Pasu drilled in his third goal of the finals. Italy lost Matteo Gentili to a second yellow card with 20 minutes remaining but still halved the deficit through Silvano Raggio only for Gebhart to restore Germany's two-goal cushion almost immediately and finally end their challenge.

Bender breakthrough
Germany had won all four of their previous matches at these finals but nearly fell behind for the first time within three minutes as Jungwirth misread Raggio's through ball and Alberto Paloschi prodded a shot over Ron-Robert Zieler that just missed the target. Gebhart provided much of Germany's early attacking impetus, volleying over after Sven Bender had flicked on a throw-in. Dennis Diekmeier and Sven Bender then nearly combined to play in Sukuta-Pasu, although Italy failed to heed the warning and fell behind in the 24th minute, Gebhart and Lars Bender creating confusion in the penalty area and the latter lashing a left-foot shot into the net.

Red card
Italy nearly responded straight away, Okaka Cuka shooting weakly at Zieler after a swift counterattack. The balance of the match shifted markedly seven minutes before the interval, Jungwirth collecting his second yellow card in five minutes for tripping Okaka Cuka, and Italy almost made their numerical advantage tell within seconds, Fernando Forestieri curling the resulting free-kick just over. There followed a spell of Azzurrini pressure, although Germany threatened to stretch their advantage on the break before half-time, Vincenzo Fiorillo producing a fine diving stop to deny Deniz Naki.

Defensive reshuffle
Italy continued to press forward as the second half unfolded but struggled to unpick a reshuffled defence with Lars Bender having dropped back to centre-half and substitute Danny Latza protecting the back four. However, Germany still looked the more dangerous side, and made it 2-0 in the 61st minute. Naki and Gebhart combined to give Sukuta-Pasu an opening on the edge of the area, and the striker's low shot found the bottom corner of the net. Sukuta-Pasu was then denied by Fiorillo, Latza somehow failing to turn in the rebound, before Gentili was dismissed, although Italy temporarily revived their hopes as Raggio struck with 12 minutes left. Two minutes later, however, Naki's free-kick was headed in by the outstanding Gebhart and Germany's celebrations could start in earnest.

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