Group 7: Greece snatch top spot

Greece and Slovakia reached the second qualifying round of the 2002/03 UEFA European Under-17 Championship yesterday by taking the top two places in the Group 7 mini-tournament.

Greece in charge
Slovakia went into their final game against Greece having won both their opening matches whereas their opponents had stuttered to a draw with Moldova. However the Slovakians were edged out 2-1 in the decisive encounter.

Champions next
Greece therefore claimed top spot with seven points and set up meetings with reigning champions Switzerland, Hungary and whichever team finishes second in Group 10 in the next phase.

Commanding win
Slovakia kicked off their campaign in commanding fashion when Snegon, Halaska and Izvolt inspired the side to a 3-0 victory over Moldova. They subsequently eased past Liechtenstein 2-0 to move into second qualifying round Group 6 with England, Scotland and the winner of Group 4.

Liechtenstein outclassed
Kyvelidis and Sarigiannidis each scored two apiece as Greece made a similarly convincing start, outclassing Liechtenstein 6-1 with Kpitikos and Iliadis both on target in the first half, but they could only manage a 1-1 stalemate with Moldova in their second game.

Moldova third
Moldova finished in third position with four points, despite signing off with a 7-0 demolition of Liechtenstein, who lost all three of their games. The tournament proper takes place next year in Portugal.