Spain and Sweden's final pedigree
Thursday, July 12, 2012
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UEFA.com reflects on Sweden and Spain's previous final appearances, from a disappointing repeat performance to a shock that eclipsed even Greece's UEFA EURO 2004 triumph.
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As Sweden and Spain gear up for their second appearances in a UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship final, UEFA.com looks back on their previous experiences – they could not be more different.
2009: England 2-0 Sweden
The 2009 championship was a step into the unknown as Belarus hosted its first final tournament but the final was all too familiar for Calle Barrling's Sweden. Swept aside 3-0 by England on the opening day of the group stage, it was a similar story in the final in Borisov 12 days later. First-half goals from birthday girl Toni Duggan (also a scorer in the group meeting) and Jordan Nobbs earned Mo Marley's team their maiden title at this level.
2004: Spain 2-1 Germany
A month after 100-1 outsiders Greece's UEFA EURO 2004 triumph, Spain conjured up an even bigger shock in Vantaa. Having been overwhelmed 7-0 during the group stage by a Germany side including the likes of Anja Mittag, Simone Laudehr and Melanie Behringer, none of the 2,600 crowd turned up expecting anything but a Spain defeat. Even after Jade put Ignacio Quereda's side 1-0 up on 29 minutes it seemed merely a blip, especially when Annike Krahn equalised just before the break. Yet Iraia's 52nd-minute free-kick restored Spain's advantage and Germany simply had no response.
* Sweden won the UEFA European Women's Under-18 Championship, the precursor to this event, in 1999 in a group format.