The UEFA European Under-17 Championship consists of three distinct stages: the qualifying round, the elite round and the final tournament. The format changed for 2014/15 with the expansion of the final tournament from eight to 16 teams.Qualifying roundThe qualifying round, played in autumn, is made up of 13 groups of four countries playing in one-venue mini-tournaments. The top two from each pool progress alongside the five third-placed sides with the best record against the leading pair in their groups.Elite roundIn the elite round, held in early spring, those 31 qualifiers plus the top seed – given a bye this far – compete i...
Football Update
Sevilla and Liverpool confirm media plans
UEFA Europa League finalists Sevilla and Liverpool have announced their pre-final media activities ahead of their meeting in Basel next week.Sevilla's media open day will take place at the club's stadium, the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, on Wednesday. It will start at 10.30CET with an open training session, followed by a mixed zone and one-to-one interviews. A press conference with head coach Unai Emery and a player will take place at 13.00CET. Media wishing to attend are asked to contact prensa@sevillafc.es.Liverpool will hold their media open day on Friday at Melwood, the club's training ground. Media will be given access from 12.30CET, with ...
Victories for Denmark, Netherlands and England
Group CDenmark 1-0 SwedenSebastian Buch Jensen settled the Nordic derby with a goal three minutes into added time. It was just reward for a Denmark side that dominated possession from the off and hit the upright through Carlo Holse in the second half. Sweden, who shocked England on Friday, were set for a point until they were caught out at the last. Sørensen, introduced after 63 minutes along with Buch Jensen, crossed from halfway to the far side of the penalty area, where his fellow substitute did the rest.
Meet Portugal forward José ‘Zé Golo’ Gomes
By taking his tally to seven with a first-half double in Portugal's 5-0 defeat of Azerbaijan on Thursday, José Gomes became the joint-leading scorer in the 2015/16 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. As keen students of the UEFA Youth League – where the Guinea-Bissau-born player registered seven goals for Benfica this season – will know, the final tournament in Azerbaijan is not the first competition in which the forward, known to his team-mates and friends as Zé Golo, has made his mark.On scoring twice in the opening 16 minutes against the hosts ...It's always good to do that because it saps the confidence from your opponents and helps the team achieve...
Title triumphs for Salzburg and Zrinjski
While Bayern München wrapped up their fourth straight Bundesliga triumph and Leicester City were crowned in England, there were other title success elsewhere in Europe.Three in a row for SalzburgSalzburg have sealed their third consecutive Austrain Bundesliga title thanks to a 1-1 draw against Sturm Graz. Valon Berisha fired the champions into the lead with a splendid strike and even though Bright Edomwonyi equalised with 20 minutes left, it was not enough to spoil the party. Wonderkid Konrad Laimer could barely control his emotions after the game. "Words cannot describe this joy," he said. "It's simply a wonderful feeling and tonight we will be celebrating a...
Guardiola’s place in Bayern coaching pantheon
Bayern München clinched their 26th Bundesliga title on Saturday, their fourth in a row.Having taken the title in record time on his 2013/14 bow at the club, Josep Guardiola will leave for Manchester City in the summer having won the league in all three of his Bundesliga seasons, playing his part in coaching the club to an unprecedented fourth straight German championship.The 45-year-old has overseen some dramatic successes since his arrival in 2013, but as UEFA.com discovers, he was not able to match the heights scaled by some of Bayern's all-time coaching greats.
Sweden stun England as Italy and Spain win
Group CEngland 1-2 SwedenTwo goals from Joel Asoro condemned England to their first defeat in this season's competition. Direct and extremely quick, Asoro terrorised the England defence. The Sunderland forward raced through to prod Sweden ahead early on and within two minutes threatened again, this time pulling his shot wide. Asoro was up front on his own for large spells of a second half England dominated. He struck again, however, after being found by Nebiyou Perry. England's riposte was swift, but, despite penning the Blågult back for long periods, they only had Reiss Nelson's close-range finish to show for their endeavours.