2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship

The 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship (also known as 2018 UEFA Under-17 Euro) was the 17th edition of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship (36th edition if the Under-16 era is also included), the annual international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the men's under-17 national teams of Europe. England, which were selected by UEFA on 26 January 2015, hosted the tournament.[1]

2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Tournament details
Host countryEngland
Dates4–20 May
Teams16
Venue(s)6 (in 5 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Netherlands (3rd title)
Runners-up Italy
Tournament statistics
Matches played31
Goals scored73 (2.35 per match)
Attendance57,502 (1,855 per match)
Top scorer(s)Belgium Yorbe Vertessen
Italy Edoardo Vergani
(4 goals each)
2017
2019

A total of 16 teams played in the tournament, with players born on or after 1 January 2001 eligible to participate. Each match had a duration of 80 minutes, consisting of two halves of 40 minutes with a 15-minute half-time.

The Netherlands won their third title by beating Italy 4–1 on penalties in the final after a 2–2 draw.[2] England proved under 21s squad confirmed were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Belgium in the quarter-finals.

Qualification

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All 55 UEFA nations entered the competition (including Kosovo who entered for the first time), and with the hosts England qualifying automatically, the other 54 teams competed in the qualifying competition to determine the remaining 15 spots in the final tournament.[3] The qualifying competition consisted of two rounds: Qualifying round, which took place in autumn 2017, and Elite round, which took place in spring 2018.[4]

Qualified teams

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The following teams qualified for the final tournament.[5]

Note: All appearance statistics include only U-17 era (since 2002).

Team Method of qualification Appearance Last appearance Previous best performance
  England Hosts 13th 2017 (runners-up) Champions (2010, 2014)
  Serbia Elite round Group 1 winners 7th 2017 (group stage) Quarter-finals (2002)
  Spain Elite round Group 1 runners-up 12th 2017 (champions) Champions (2007, 2008, 2017)
  Sweden Elite round Group 2 winners 3rd 2016 (quarter-finals) Semi-finals (2013)
  Belgium Elite round Group 2 runners-up[^] 6th 2016 (quarter-finals) Semi-finals (2007, 2015)
  Republic of Ireland Elite round Group 3 winners 4th 2017 (quarter-finals) Quarter-finals (2017)
   Switzerland Elite round Group 4 winners 8th 2014 (group stage) Champions (2002)
  Portugal Elite round Group 4 runners-up[^] 7th 2016 (champions) Champions (2003, 2016)
  Netherlands Elite round Group 5 winners 12th 2017 (quarter-finals) Champions (2011, 2012)
  Italy Elite round Group 5 runners-up[^] 8th 2017 (group stage) Runners-up (2013)
  Bosnia and Herzegovina Elite round Group 6 winners 3rd 2017 (group stage) Group stage (2016, 2017)
  Denmark Elite round Group 6 runners-up[^] 5th 2016 (group stage) Semi-finals (2011)
  Slovenia Elite round Group 7 winners 3rd 2015 (group stage) Group stage (2012, 2015)
  Israel Elite round Group 7 runners-up[^] 3rd 2005 (group stage) Group stage (2003, 2005)
  Norway Elite round Group 8 winners 2nd 2017 (group stage) Group stage (2017)
  Germany Elite round Group 8 runners-up[^] 11th 2017 (semi-finals) Champions (2009)
Notes
  1. ^
    The best seven runners-up among all eight elite round groups qualified for the final tournament.

Final draw

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The final draw was held on 5 April 2018, 17:30 BST (UTC+1), at the St George's Park in Burton, England.[6] The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. Hosts England were assigned to position A1 in the draw, while the other teams were seeded according to their results in the qualification elite round, with the seven best elite round group winners (counting all elite round results) placed in Pot 1 and drawn to positions 1 and 2 in the groups, and the remaining eight teams (the eighth-best elite round group winner and the seven elite round group runners-up) placed in Pot 2 and drawn to positions 3 and 4 in the groups.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Seeding
1   England (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Host (A1)
2 3   Republic of Ireland 3 3 0 0 6 0 +6 9 Pot 1
3 5   Netherlands 3 3 0 0 6 1 +5 9
4 1   Serbia 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7
5 8   Norway 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4 7
6 7   Slovenia 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 7
7 4    Switzerland 3 2 1 0 7 4 +3 7
8 6   Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 2 0 1 4 4 0 6
9 2   Sweden 3 1 2 0 1 0 +1 5 Pot 2
10 4   Portugal 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7 Pot 2
11 7   Israel 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 6
12 6   Denmark 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 6[a]
13 5   Italy 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 6[a]
14 1   Spain 3 1 2 0 4 2 +2 5
15 8   Germany 3 1 1 1 5 3 +2 4
16 2   Belgium 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) disciplinary points; 5) coefficient; 6) drawing of lots.
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Ranked by disciplinary points (Denmark: 4 pts; Italy: 6 pts).

Venues

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The tournament took place at six venues across the Midlands and South Yorkshire. England's opening match took place at the Proact Stadium in Chesterfield with the final taking place at the New York Stadium in Rotherham.

Rotherham Chesterfield Walsall
New York Stadium Proact Stadium Bescot Stadium
Capacity: 12,023 Capacity: 10,504 Capacity: 11,300
     
Burton Loughborough
Pirelli Stadium St George's Park Loughborough University Stadium
Capacity: 6,912 Capacity: 499 Capacity: 3,300
     

Match officials

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A total of 8 referees, 12 assistant referees and 4 fourth officials were appointed for the final tournament.[7]

Squads

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Each national team submitted a squad of 20 players (Regulations Article 40).[4]

Group stage

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The final tournament schedule was confirmed on 10 April 2018.[8]

The group winners and runners-up advance to the quarter-finals.

Tiebreakers

In the group stage, teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Articles 17.01 and 17.02):[4]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams have the same number of points, and they met in the last round of the group and are tied after applying all criteria above (not used if more than two teams have the same number of points, or if their rankings are not relevant for qualification for the next stage);
  8. Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
  9. UEFA coefficient for the qualifying round draw;
  10. Drawing of lots.

All times are local, BST (UTC+1).

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Italy 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6[a] Knockout stage
2   England (H) 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6[a]
3    Switzerland 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6[a]
4   Israel 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head results: Italy 2–0 Switzerland, England 2–1 Italy, Switzerland 1–0 England. Head-to-head standings:
    • Italy: 3 pts, +1 GD
    • England: 3 pts, 0 GD
    • Switzerland: 3 pts, −1 GD
Italy  2–0   Switzerland
  • Greco   22'
  • Vergani   64'
Report
Attendance: 488
Referee: Zbyněk Proske (Czech Republic)
England  2–1  Israel
Report
Attendance: 6,102
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey)

Switzerland  3–0  Israel
Report
Attendance: 259
Referee: Juri Frischer (Estonia)
England  2–1  Italy
Report
Attendance: 7,159
Referee: Vilhjalmur Thorarinsson (Iceland)

Switzerland  1–0  England
Report
Attendance: 6,146
Referee: Horatiu Fesnic (Romania)
Israel  0–2  Italy
Report
Attendance: 288
Referee: Tihomir Pejin (Croatia)

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Norway 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Knockout stage
2   Sweden 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6
3   Portugal 3 1 1 1 4 1 +3 4
4   Slovenia 3 0 0 3 0 8 −8 0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Portugal  0–0  Norway
Report
Attendance: 463
Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)
Slovenia  0–2  Sweden
Report
Attendance: 338
Referee: Robert Harvey (Republic of Ireland)

Norway  2–1  Sweden
Report
Attendance: 454
Referee: Horatiu Fesnic (Romania)
Slovenia  0–4  Portugal
Report
Attendance: 553
Referee: Tihomir Pejin (Croatia)

Norway  2–0  Slovenia
Report
Attendance: 912
Referee: Robert Harvey (Republic of Ireland)
Sweden  1–0  Portugal
Report
Attendance: 953
Referee: Juri Frischer (Estonia)

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Belgium 3 3 0 0 7 0 +7 9 Knockout stage
2   Republic of Ireland 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 6
3   Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 1 0 2 3 8 −5 3
4   Denmark 3 0 0 3 2 5 −3 0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Denmark  2–3  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Report
Attendance: 658
Referee: Juri Frischer (Estonia)
Republic of Ireland  0–2  Belgium
Report
Attendance: 824
Referee: Vilhjalmur Thorarinsson (Iceland)

Republic of Ireland  1–0  Denmark
Report
Attendance: 481
Referee: Zbynek Proske (Czech Republic)
Bosnia and Herzegovina  0–4  Belgium
Report
Attendance: 456
Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)

Bosnia and Herzegovina  0–2  Republic of Ireland
Report
Attendance: 406
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey)
Belgium  1–0  Denmark
Report
Attendance: 1,842
Referee: Zbyněk Proske (Czech Republic)

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Netherlands 3 3 0 0 7 0 +7 9 Knockout stage
2   Spain 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6
3   Germany 3 1 0 2 4 8 −4 3
4   Serbia 3 0 0 3 0 6 −6 0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Germany  0–3  Netherlands
Report
Attendance: 508
Referee: Tihomir Pejin (Croatia)
Serbia  0–1  Spain
Report
Attendance: 823
Referee: Horatiu Fesnic (Romania)

Serbia  0–3  Germany
Report
Attendance: 1,038
Referee: Robert Harvey (Republic of Ireland)
Netherlands  2–0  Spain
Report
Attendance: 1,378
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey)

Netherlands  2–0  Serbia
Report
Attendance: 1,186
Referee: Vilhjalmur Thorarinsson (Iceland)
Spain  5–1  Germany
Report
Attendance: 1,067
Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)

Knockout stage

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In the knockout stage, penalty shoot-out is used to decide the winner if necessary (no extra time is played).[4]

Bracket

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Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
13 May – Rotherham
 
 
  Italy1
 
17 May – Rotherham
 
  Sweden0
 
  Italy2
 
14 May – Walsall
 
  Belgium1
 
  Belgium2
 
20 May – Rotherham
 
  Spain1
 
  Italy2 (1)
 
13 May – Burton
 
  Netherlands (p)2 (4)
 
  Norway0
 
17 May – Chesterfield
 
  England2
 
  England0 (5)
 
14 May – Chesterfield
 
  Netherlands (p)0 (6)
 
  Netherlands (p)1 (5)
 
 
  Republic of Ireland1 (4)
 

Quarter-finals

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Italy  1–0  Sweden
Report
Attendance: 1,061
Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)

Norway  0–2  England
Report
Attendance: 5,102
Referee: Juri Frischer (Estonia)

Belgium  2–1  Spain
Report
Attendance: 891
Referee: Robert Harvey (Republic of Ireland)

Netherlands  1–1  Republic of Ireland
Report
Penalties
5–4
Attendance: 673
Referee: Zbynek Proske (Czech Republic)

Semi-finals

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Italy  2–1  Belgium
Report
Attendance: 2,429
Referee: Vilhjalmur Thorarinsson (Iceland)

England  0–0  Netherlands
Report
Penalties
5–6
Attendance: 7,952
Referee: Horatiu Fesnic (Romania)

Final

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Italy  2–2  Netherlands
Report
Penalties
1–4
Attendance: 4,612
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey)

Goalscorers

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4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

Source: UEFA.com[9]

Team of the tournament

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The UEFA technical observers selected the following 11 players for the team of the tournament (previously a squad of 18 players were selected):[10]

Goalkeeper
Defenders
Defensive midfielders
Attacking midfielders
Forward

References

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  1. ^ "U17 finals destined for Croatia and England". UEFA. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Netherlands win #U17EURO: at a glance". UEFA.com. 20 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Seedings for 2017/18 U17 qualifying round". UEFA. 24 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d "Regulations of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, 2017/18" (PDF). UEFA.com.
  5. ^ "UEFA European Under-17 Championship England 2018". UEFA Programmes.
  6. ^ "Under-17 final tournament draw". UEFA.com.
  7. ^ "UEFA matchday programmes". UEFA matchday programmes. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  8. ^ "Under-17 EURO finals schedule confirmed". UEFA.com. 10 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Statistics — Tournament phase — Player statistics — Goals". UEFA.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Under-17 EURO team of the tournament". UEFA.com. 16 June 2018.
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