Norway through as they deny Sweden finals place

Norway came from behind to hold Sweden 1-1 and qualify for the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship finals at their neighbours' expense in elite round Group 5 in Austira.

Going into the final day, Norway held a two-point lead over Sweden and led on six minutes through an Amanda Persson own goal. Loreta Kullashi equalised in the 19th minute and hit the woodwork twice along with Moa Olsson but Norway held on and Sweden finished one goal short of the Republic of Ireland to miss out on a qualifying place as the runners-up with the best record against the teams first and third in their groups.

On the opening day, Kullashi had scored to give Sweden a 1-1 draw against Denmark, missing ten-goal qualifying round top scorer Signe Bruun, promoted to the U19 team who earned a place in their European finals earlier this month. Norway beat Austria 3-2 and then overcame Denmark 1-0 while Sweden saw off the hosts 1-0. Austria did beat Denmark for third place today.

The finals draw is at 13.30CET on 29 April at Reykjavik City Hall, streamed live on UEFA.com.

Reaction:
Lena Tiryberget, Norway coach
At the moment I am very happy for the girls. They have fought very hard and showed great determination. They really wanted to advance to Iceland. The group was very tight, we knew all the teams from before. The games were exciting, full of drama. We will take in game by game  in the finals and see what happens.

Yvonne Ekroth, Sweden coach
t the moment I am sad, because the girls did a really good job and were close to advancing from the group. We missed great chances today, as well as against Denmark. Norway have improved a lot recently and I congratulate them. It was a real drama and although I am disappointed now, the girls showed they have bright future ahead of them.