All to play for in U17 EURO Groups C and D
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
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All eight teams in Groups C and D are in contention to qualify for the quarter-finals going into the last round of games, with just three points separating the sides in both sections.
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Group C
England 1-2 Sweden
France 0-0 Denmark
Denmark 1-0 Sweden
France 0-2 England
Denmark (4pts) v England (3)
Baku Olympic Stadium, 17.00CET
• Sebastian Buch Jensen's last-gasp winner against Sweden on Monday means leaders Denmark will advance if they avoid defeat against Steve Cooper's resurgent England. "We will do our best and try to play at our top level again," said coach Jan Michaelsen, whose side have kept two clean sheets in Azerbaijan. "I don't think we can dominate possession against England."
• Like the other 15 teams, England are finding the finals a great learning opportunity. The second half against France was a case in point; a goal down, their opponents had keeper Gaëtan Poussin sent off for fouling Reiss Nelson in the box two minutes after the restart. "We had some good [lessons] against Sweden and there were more [against France]: game management, knowing how to control a lead and seeing it out," Cooper told UEFA.com. "It's a brilliant event. There are so many ups and downs. That'll be the same going into the third game, but that's what you want with young players – they need to be having these experiences."
Sweden (3) v France (1)
Qarabağ Stadium, 17.00
• Magnus Wikman is philosophical about Sweden's prospects. After the disappointment of the Denmark match, when it was "really tough on us to concede in the dying minutes", he said: "France are very strong. We are going to play like a team and see how we go. We still have a chance, which is good for us, although it's going to be really tough to win."
• France's odds of remaining in the competition to defend the title Les Petits Bleus won 12 months ago in Bulgaria are long. "We'll have to rely on a favourable result in the other game and, more than likely, score a lot of goals to give us a chance," said coach Bernard Diomède, who was encouraged by the way his undermanned side performed against England. "You saw that even at ten v 11 we were capable of producing quality football."
Suspended: Gaëtan Poussin (France)
Group D
Italy 2-1 Serbia
Netherlands 0-2 Spain
Italy 0-1 Netherlands
Serbia 1-1 Spain
Spain (4) v Italy (3)
Qarabağ Stadium, 12.00
• Santi Denia knows his team will be pushed all the way by Italy. "It will be a very competitive match – they are a team who can take you to the limit," he explained. La Roja were ahead early on against Serbia last time out but did not press home their advantage, conceding a 59th-minute equaliser from the spot. "We could have ended the first half with a better result than 1-0. Though Serbia lost to Italy, they played very well, created chances and can still qualify."
• Italy will be without danger man Moise Kean, who was sent off late on in the reverse against the Dutch. Not that coach Alessandro Dal Canto is overly concerned. "He won't play, but we have [Gianluca] Scamacca, [Marco] Olivieri and [Andrea] Pinamonti. We'll see what happens."
Suspended: Moise Kean (Italy)
Serbia (1) v Netherlands (3)
Baku Olympic Stadium, 12.00
• Ilija Stolica has been trying to ensure morale in the Serbia squad remains high in spite of their position at the foot of the group. "It's football, it happens [one points after two games]," said the former forward, who played in Portugal, Ukraine, Belgium, Greece, Montenegro and the United States. "I always tell the lads that things like this turn around, no doubt about it. I don't know if it will be in the next game or later, but I'm sure that both in life and in football, if you work hard you will be rewarded."
• Kees van Wonderen will decide whether to restore Justin Kluivert to the XI after his decisive cameo against Italy. Kluivert, who started the Spain fixture in place of the suspended Tahith Chong, was introduced late on versus the Azzurrini and provided the ball from which the Netherlands scored. "Che Nunnely, Tahith Chong and Justin are good wingers, so we have to make a choice every game as to who we're going to pick," he explained. "We choose those who we think will be most useful to the team in that particular match."