2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship

Summary

The 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the 14th edition of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship (33rd edition if the Under-16 era was also included), the annual European youth football competition contested by the men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Bulgaria hosted the tournament.[3] The finals featured 16 teams for the first time since 2002, as the number of teams was increased from eight in the previous tournament. Players born on or after 1 January 1998 were eligible to participate in this competition.

2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship
2015 УЕФА Европейско първенство за юноши до 17 години
Tournament details
Host countryBulgaria
Dates6–22 May
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)4 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions France (2nd title)
Runners-up Germany
Tournament statistics
Matches played33
Goals scored59 (1.79 per match)
Attendance77,868 (2,360 per match)
Top scorer(s)France Odsonne Édouard (8 goals)[1]
Best player(s)France Odsonne Édouard[2]
2014
2016

The final tournament also acted as the UEFA qualifier for the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, with six teams qualifying (the four semi-finalists and the two winners of play-off matches between the losing quarter-finalists).

Each match lasted 80 minutes, consisting of two halves of 40 minutes, with an interval of 15 minutes.

Qualification edit

All 54 UEFA nations entered the competition and with the hosts Bulgaria qualifying automatically, the other 53 teams competed in the qualifying competition to determine the remaining 15 spots in the final tournament.[4] The qualifying competition consisted of two rounds: Qualifying round, which took place in autumn 2014 and Elite round, which took place in spring 2015.[5]

Qualified teams edit

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.[6][7]

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

Team Method of qualification Finals appearance Last appearance Previous best performance
  Bulgaria Hosts 1st Debut Debut
  France Elite round Group 1 winners 9th 2012 Champions (2004)
  Spain Elite round Group 1 runners-up[^] 9th 2010 Champions (2007, 2008)
  Croatia Elite round Group 2 winners 3rd 2013 Fourth place (2005)
  Belgium Elite round Group 3 winners 4th 2012 Semi-finals (2007)
  Netherlands Elite round Group 3 runners-up[^] 9th 2014 Champions (2011, 2012)
  Greece Elite round Group 4 winners 2nd 2010 Group stage (2010)
  Republic of Ireland Elite round Group 4 runners-up[^] 2nd 2008 Group stage (2008)
  Austria Elite round Group 5 winners 4th 2013 Third place (2003)
  Russia Elite round Group 5 runners-up[^] 3rd 2013 Champions (2006, 2013)
  England Elite round Group 6 winners 10th 2014 Champions (2010, 2014)
  Slovenia Elite round Group 6 runners-up[^] 2nd 2012 Group stage (2012)
  Czech Republic Elite round Group 7 winners 5th 2011 Runners-up (2006)
  Scotland Elite round Group 7 runners-up[^] 3rd 2014 Semi-finals (2014)
  Germany Elite round Group 8 winners 8th 2014 Champions (2009)
  Italy Elite round Group 8 runners-up[^] 5th 2013 Runners-up (2013)
Notes
  1. ^
    The best seven runners-up among all eight elite round groups qualified for the final tournament.

Final draw edit

The final draw was held in Pomorie, Bulgaria on 2 April 2015, 14:00 EEST (UTC+3).[8][9] The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. There were no seeding except that the hosts Bulgaria were assigned to position A1 in the draw.

Venues edit

The competition was played at four venues in four host cities: Beroe Stadium (in Stara Zagora), Hadzhi Dimitar Stadium (in Sliven), Lazur Stadium (in Burgas), and Arena Sozopol (in Sozopol).[10]

Stara Zagora Sliven Burgas Sozopol
Beroe Stadium Hadzhi Dimitar Stadium Lazur Stadium Arena Sozopol
Capacity: 11,684 Capacity: 8,500 Capacity: 19,004 Capacity: 2,599

Squads edit

Each national team had to submit a squad of 18 players.[5]

Match officials edit

A total of 9 referees, 12 assistant referees and 4 fourth officials were appointed for the final tournament.[11]

Group stage edit

 
Map of the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship finalist teams and their performances.

Group winners and runners-up advanced to the quarter-finals.

Tiebreakers

if two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:[5]

  1. Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
  2. Superior goal difference resulting from the group matches played among the teams in question;
  3. Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question;
  4. If, after having applied criteria 1 to 3, teams still had an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 were reapplied exclusively to the group matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure did not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 9 applied;
  5. Superior goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
  7. If only two teams had the same number of points, and they were tied according to criteria 1 to 6 after having met in the last round of the group stage, their rankings were determined by a penalty shoot-out (not used if more than two teams had the same number of points, or if their rankings were not relevant for qualification for the next stage).
  8. Lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received in the group matches (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
  9. Drawing of lots.

All times were local, EEST (UTC+3).[12]

Group A edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Croatia 3 2 1 0 3 0 +3 7 Knockout stage
2   Spain 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
3   Austria 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
4   Bulgaria (H) 3 0 1 2 2 5 −3 1
Source: UEFA
(H) Hosts
Spain  1–1  Austria
Aleñá   46' (pen.) Report Lovrić   62'
Attendance: 1,180[13]
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (Denmark)
Bulgaria  0–2  Croatia
Report Babić   24'
Blečić   83'

Croatia  1–0  Austria
Lovren   52' Report
Attendance: 1,732[13]
Referee: Dumitru Muntean (Moldova)
Bulgaria  1–2  Spain
Yordanov   35' Report Zalazar   11'
Villalba   47'
Attendance: 9,240[13]

Austria  1–1  Bulgaria
Filip   34' Report Yordanov   43'
Attendance: 2,213[13]
Referee: Danilo Grujić (Serbia)
Croatia  0–0  Spain
Report
Attendance: 1,782[13]
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (Belgium)

Group B edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Germany 3 3 0 0 7 0 +7 9 Knockout stage
2   Belgium 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6
3   Czech Republic 3 1 0 2 1 7 −6 3
4   Slovenia 3 0 0 3 0 3 −3 0
Source: UEFA
Czech Republic  1–0  Slovenia
Lingr   44' Report
Belgium  0–2  Germany
Report Passlack   43'
Schmidt   46'
Attendance: 612[13]
Referee: Danilo Grujić (Serbia)

Czech Republic  0–3  Belgium
Report Azzaoui   29', 75' (pen.)
Van Vaerenbergh   78'
Attendance: 1,228[13]
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (Denmark)
Slovenia  0–1  Germany
Report Eggestein   8'

Germany  4–0  Czech Republic
Passlack   10', 40+2'
Karakas   33'
Sağlam   53'
Report
Attendance: 1,206[13]
Referee: Alan Mario Sant (Malta)
Slovenia  0–1  Belgium
Report Van Vaerenbergh   80+3'

Group C edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   France 3 3 0 0 7 0 +7 9 Knockout stage
2   Russia 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
3   Greece 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
4   Scotland 3 0 0 3 0 8 −8 0
Source: UEFA
Greece  2–2  Russia
Kirtzialidis   37'
Pavlidis   64'
Report Pletnyov   59'
Denisov   72'
Attendance: 2,000[13]
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (Belgium)
Scotland  0–5  France
Report Ikoné   18', 20'
Édouard   25'
Boutobba   35'
Doucouré   47'
Attendance: 326[13]
Referee: Alan Mario Sant (Malta)

Russia  0–1  France
Report Édouard   50'
Attendance: 2,255[13]
Referee: Danilo Grujić (Serbia)
Greece  1–0  Scotland
Pavlidis   39' Report

France  1–0  Greece
Rambaud   80+4' Report
Russia  2–0  Scotland
Denisov   52'
Pletnyov   65'
Report
Attendance: 885[13]
Referee: Dumitru Muntean (Moldova)

Group D edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   England 3 2 1 0 3 1 +2 7 Knockout stage
2   Italy 3 1 1 1 3 2 +1 4
3   Netherlands 3 0 3 0 2 2 0 3
4   Republic of Ireland 3 0 1 2 0 3 −3 1
Source: UEFA
Republic of Ireland  0–0  Netherlands
Report
Attendance: 1,500[13]
Referee: Dumitru Muntean (Moldova)
Italy  0–1  England
Report Edwards   47'

Republic of Ireland  0–2  Italy
Report Lo Faso   9'
Mazzocchi   56'
Netherlands  1–1  England
Boultam   56' (pen.) Report Fosu-Mensah   18' (o.g.)
Attendance: 1,063[13]
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (Belgium)

England  1–0  Republic of Ireland
Edwards   71' Report
Netherlands  1–1  Italy
Giraudo   63' (o.g.) Report Cutrone   6'
Attendance: 1,258[13]
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (Denmark)

Knockout stage edit

In the knockout stage, penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winner if necessary (no extra time was played).[5]

Bracket edit

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
15 May – Burgas
 
 
  Croatia1 (3)
 
19 May – Burgas
 
  Belgium (p)1 (5)
 
  Belgium1 (1)
 
16 May – Stara Zagora
 
  France (p)1 (2)
 
  France3
 
22 May – Burgas
 
  Italy0
 
  France4
 
15 May – Stara Zagora
 
  Germany1
 
  Germany (p)0 (4)
 
19 May – Stara Zagora
 
  Spain0 (2)
 
  Germany1
 
16 May – Burgas
 
  Russia0
 
  England0
 
 
  Russia1
 


 
FIFA U-17 World Cup play-offs 
 
      
 
19 May – Sozopol
 
 
  Croatia1
 
 
  Italy0
 
 
19 May – Sliven
 
 
  Spain0 (3)
 
 
  England (p)0 (5)
 

Quarter-finals edit

Winners qualified for 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Losers played in FIFA U-17 World Cup play-offs.

Croatia  1–1  Belgium
Majić   34' Report Azzaoui   53'
Penalties
Moro  
Brekalo  
Lovren  
Sosa  
3–5   Janssens
  Van Vaerenbergh
  Daneels
  Ademoglu
  Azzaoui
Attendance: 1,073[13]

Germany  0–0  Spain
Report
Penalties
Gül  
Janelt  
Passlack  
Özcan  
4–2   Pepelu
  Olmo
  Aleñá
  Rodríguez

England  0–1  Russia
Report Tatayev   29'
Attendance: 2,085[13]
Referee: Alan Mario Sant (Malta)

France  3–0  Italy
Édouard   5', 72'
Ikoné   53'
Report
Attendance: 2,114[13]
Referee: Danilo Grujić (Serbia)

FIFA U-17 World Cup play-offs edit

Winners qualified for 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Croatia  1–0  Italy
Moro   15' Report
Attendance: 344[13]
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (Denmark)

Spain  0–0  England
Report
Penalties
Pepelu  
Olmo  
Villalba  
Martín  
3–5   Edwards
  Ugbo
  Willock
  Oxford
  Suliman
Attendance: 984[13]
Referee: Dumitri Muntean (Moldova)

Semi-finals edit

Belgium  1–1  France
Seigers   52' Report Édouard   23'
Penalties
Janssens  
Van Vaerenbergh  
Daneels  
Ademoglu  
Azzaoui  
1–2   Janvier
  Cognat
  Pelican
  Zidane
  Édouard

Germany  1–0  Russia
Serra   68' Report

Final edit

France  4–1  Germany
Édouard   40', 47', 70'
Gül   80+3' (o.g.)
Report Karakas   50'
Attendance: 14,680[13]

Goalscorers edit

8 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goal

Source: UEFA[14]

Team of the tournament edit

Source: UEFA Technical Report[15]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Eight-goal Edouard takes scorers' prize". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2016. Odsonne Edouard's eight goals in Bulgaria is a record for a UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals, eclipsing the seven Jonathan Soriano managed for Spain in 2002.
  2. ^ "Golden Player – 2015: Odsonne Edouard". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Malta, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan picked for U17s". UEFA. 2012-03-20.
  4. ^ "Under-17s turn thoughts to Bulgaria". UEFA.com. 22 November 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d "Regulations of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, 2014/15" (PDF). UEFA.com.
  6. ^ "Under-17 finals lineup complete". UEFA.com. 27 March 2015.
  7. ^ "2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship programme" (PDF). UEFA.com.
  8. ^ "Final tournament draw". UEFA.com.
  9. ^ "England, Netherlands rematched in Under-17 draw". UEFA.com. 2 April 2015.
  10. ^ "Venue guide". UEFA.com.
  11. ^ "Match officials". UEFA.com.
  12. ^ "Match Schedule" (PDF). UEFA.com.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag "UEFA Technical Report – Results". UEFA.com.
  14. ^ "Statistics — Tournament phase — Player statistics — Goals". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Team of the Tournament". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 20 July 2015.

External links edit

  • History – UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2014/15, UEFA.com
  • Bulgaria 2015, UEFA.com
  • Official website (Bulgarian)[permanent dead link]