We now know the 16 teams that will compete at the Men’s European U17 Championships in Manisa, Turkey (August 8 – 15).
In addition to the top eight teams from the 2021 Europeans in Malta (Serbia, Greece, Hungary, Spain, Montenegro, Croatia, Netherlands and Italy) and host Turkey, seven teams qualified through the four-day qualification tournaments in Tbilisi, Targu Mures, Maribor and Gzira. These teams are Georgia, France, Germany, Romania, Ukraine, Malta and Poland.
Compared to the 2021 U17 Europeans, the new teams are France and Poland. The other 14 teams qualified for the Manisa tournament played at the 2021 Europeans, along with Russia and Belarus, which are suspended.
France won first place in the group in Maribor, while Poland advanced to the Europeans by finishing second in a quite competitive group in Gzira.
Qualifications for Men’s European U17 Championships, Days 3 and 4
Group A (Tbilisi, Georgia)
Round 2
Georgia – Cyprus 16:5 (5:2, 3:1, 6:1, 2:1)
Czech Republic – Lithuania 8:11 (1:2, 2:2, 1:5, 4:2)
Round 3
Czech Republic – Cyprus 8:9 (1:3, 3:3, 3:3, 1:0)
Georgia – Lithuania 12:6 (2:2, 2:0, 5:2, 3:2)
The question of 1st place in Group A was resolved in the last match. Georgia and Lithuania had six points each before the last game and their encounter decided which team would earn the only available ticket in this group.
Lithuania started very well. By the middle of the first period, the Lithuanians earned a 2:0 lead. However, Georgia held them scoreless in the following 16 minutes while scoring five goals for a 5:2 advantage (17th minute). By the end, Georgia doubled the margin to 12:6 and qualified for the tournament in Turkey.
Only one team qualified from Group A, as this is the only group with four teams. It was supposed that Turkey would play in this group. But, even if Turkey had participated, nothing would have changed because Turkey was qualified as the host. Only one ticket would be available in both cases.
Cyprus won 3rd place with a narrow victory over the Czech Republic.
1.Georgia 3 – 9
2.Lithuania 3 – 6
3. Cyprus 3 – 3
4. Czech Republic 3 – 0
Group B (Maribor, Slovenia)
Round 3
Austria – Bulgaria 15:25 (4:6, 1:6, 5:7, 5:6)
France – Germany 10:9 (2:2, 1:2, 5:2, 2:3)
Round 4
France – Austria 27:8 (9:0, 5:3, 6:1, 7:4)
Slovenia – Germany 3:12 (0:3, 1:2, 0:4, 2:3)
Round 5
Bulgaria – Germany 6:24 (3:5, 0:7, 1:5, 2:7)
France – Slovenia 12:7 (3:1, 3:0, 1:2, 5:4)
France recorded four wins in Maribor. As expected, the French had the most challenging task in the derby against Germany. The Germans dictated the pace for more than two quarters of the game against the French. They were two steps ahead early in the third quarter (6:4). But, then France produced a 6:1 run and jumped to 10:7 (29th minute). Germany cut the deficit to one with 02:39 minutes left on the clock (9:10). There were no goals in the last two minutes and a half, so France kept a slim advantage and three points.
Slovenia was considered one of the teams that could surprise and enter the battle for the first two places. But, after an unexpected 13:15 loss to Bulgaria, Slovenia couldn’t upset Germany and France and finished 4th, behind Bulgaria, which suffered convincing losses to France and Germany.
1.France 4 – 12
2.Germany 4 – 9
3.Bulgaria 4 – 6
4. Slovenia 4 – 3
5. Austria 4 – 0
Group C (Targu Mures, Romania)
Round 4
Ireland – Moldova 9:10 (5:3, 2:3, 1:2, 1:2)
Ukraine – Romania 5:9 (1:0, 1:1, 0:5, 3:3)
Round 5
Switzerland – Romania 1:13 (0:7, 0:1, 1:5, 0:0)
Ireland – Ukraine 3:19 (1:6, 0:5, 1:4, 1:4)
According to the predictions, Romania and Ukraine qualified from the group in Targu Mures. The hosts proved they were the favorites and finished atop, but Romania needed a lot of time to secure a win over Ukraine in the decisive match for 1st place.
Ukraine opened the derby very well and earned a 2:0 lead early in the second quarter. Romania struggled in the attack, but the hosts’ “goal machine” started working late into the second period. Romania produced a 7:0 run, and took a 7:2 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Ukraine narrowed the distance in the remaining time (5:9).
1.Romania 4 – 12
2. Ukraine 4 – 9
3. Moldova 4 – 6
4. Ireland 4 – 3
5. Switzerland 4 – 0
Group D (Gzira, Malta)
Round 3
Great Britain – Latvia 20:9 (2:1, 6:2, 7:0, 5:6)
Slovakia – Poland 6:8 (4:1, 0:1, 2:2, 0:4)
Round 4
Poland – Great Britain 16:10 (4:2, 4:2, 4:0, 4:6)
Malta – Slovakia 12:5 (4:3, 2:1, 3:1, 3:0)
Round 5
Latvia – Poland 6:32 (0:9, 2:7, 2:7, 2:9)
Malta – Great Britain 15:5 (3:1, 3:0, 5:3, 4:1)
Host Malta dominated the tournament played in the pool that was the venue of the 2021 European U17 Championships.
After a slim 15:13 win over Poland(Round 2), the hosts recorded two convincing victories to keep 1st place.
Poland played well against Malta and indicated it could qualify for the European Championships. The Poles earned the crucial three points in the 3rd round, defeating Slovakia. Still, at halftime, it seemed that Slovakia would collected the points. The Slovaks led 4:2 at halftime, 5:2 at the beginning and 6:4 before the end of the third period. But, Poland produced a great comeback with a stunning 4:0 fourth quarter. The Poles leveled at 6:6 midway through the fourth quarter and added two goals after that for an 8:6 victory.
Slovakia’s last chance was to surprise Malta. But, the hosts controlled the match and recorded a 12:5 victory. Poland made no mistakes in the duels with Great Britain and Poland and finished 2nd.
1.Malta 4 – 12
2.Poland 4 – 9
3. Slovakia 4 – 6
4. Great Britain 4 – 3
5. Latvia 4 – 0
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