Bulgaria and Austria sign off with draw

• Bulgaria's Dimitar Sheytanov makes a string of fine saves to earn hosts their first point
• Oliver Filip gives Manfred Zsak's side a deserved first-half lead
• Tonislav Yordanov equalises after the break, Bulgaria then hit the woodwork twice
• Spain's draw with Croatia means Austria would have been out even with a win

Austria and Bulgaria signed off from the UEFA European Under-17 Championship with an entertaining 1-1 Group A draw that could have ended 3-3.

Manfred Zsak's side entered the last day with slender hopes of joining Croatia in the quarter-finals and they showed plenty of endeavour in the first half. Oliver Filip finally ended Dimitar Sheytanov's acrobatic resistance on 34 minutes but soon after the interval it was all square thanks to Tonislav Yordanov. The action was full-blooded to the final whistle, with Austria piling forward and Bulgaria twice hitting the woodwork.

So it finished 1-1, raising some cheer among the home fans and not enough for third-placed Austria – though Spain's draw with Croatia meant that even a victory would not have been enough for them to progress. Zsak's charges certainly went for it, however. Sheytanov denied Arnel Jakupovic twice and Sandi Lovric as the visitors turned the screw, so when Filip fired in it was just reward.

Yordanov's volley three minutes into the second period turned the tide and the game opened right up. Sheytanov continued to thwart Jakupovic, whose team-mate Kevin Danso was given similar treatment; all the while Bulgaria looked potent on the counter and Yordanov and Valentin Yoskov both headed against the bar as somehow it remained 1-1.

Reaction
Manfred Zsak, Austria coach
It was a very good game for the spectators. Austria had more chances, but the Bulgaria goalkeeper was superb today. We are not as mature as Spain or Croatia in terms of scoring goals, and we missed so many chances over the three matchdays. Every player now knows what they need to work on. Spain and Croatia deservedly go through.

Aleksandar Dimitrov, Bulgaria coach
It was a very attractive game. We could have won but we hit the woodwork twice. We have improved with every match and we demonstrated that here. There is a lot of talent in this squad and I hope these players will continue to develop and improve.