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...
Tag: dutch
Vardy the big plus as Dutch cool England’s boots
England have a new man of the moment in Leicester City's rags-to-riches hero Jamie Vardy. After hitting his first international goal with a brilliantly instinctive backheel in Saturday's 3-2 victory over Germany in Berlin, Vardy struck his first Wembley goal last night and produced an impressive all-round performance in the 2-1 defeat against an under-strength but impressively disciplined Netherlands side.It was not just his goal. His hunger had two Dutch players scrambling to clear the ball in an early incident in their box which epitomised the forward's tireless harrying of opponents. In the second half he nearly had a second goal with a long-distance drive that warmed goalkeeper...
Dutch get De Jong, Vlaar, Fer boosts
Nigel de Jong and Ron Vlaar gave Netherlands a sizeable boost on by returning to training on the eve of their 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ semi-final against Argentina in Sao Paulo. De Jong, the 29-year-old AC Milan midfielder, has not played since tearing a groin muscle during his side's 2-1 victory over Mexico in the last 16 on 29 June. Dutch medical staff initially predicted that he would be sidelined for between two and four weeks, but he completed the warm-up at Sao Paulo's Estadio do Pacaembu in part of the session open to the media. Aston Villa defender Vlaar, 29, was also present, despite reports he was a serious doubt for Wednesday's game with a knee complaint. Leroy